COVENTRY — Eleven-year-old Bodhana Sivanandan has become the youngest British women’s chess champion after finishing as the highest-placed female player at the 2026 British Chess Championships in Coventry, a landmark result for one of England’s fastest-rising chess players.
Sivanandan, who lives in north London, secured the women’s title after the nine-round championship at the University of Warwick, where she competed in the main open tournament alongside male and female players. She finished ahead of her female rivals, including Women’s Grandmaster Trisha Kanyamarala, according to tournament reports.
The 2026 championships ran from Aug. 1 to Aug. 9 and attracted more than 1,700 participants across its sections, making it the largest edition in the event’s 122-year history, according to the English Chess Federation. The tournament also featured a record prize fund of more than £34,000 for the main championships.
Sivanandan’s victory follows a rapid rise through the British chess ranks. In April, she became England’s top-rated female player after overtaking four-time British women’s champion Lan Yao in the FIDE rankings. Her rating at the time was 2,366, placing her among the world’s top 100 female players.
Her performance in Coventry included a notable victory over Grandmaster Ameet Ghasi during the championship. The result added to a series of high-level achievements for the schoolgirl, who became the youngest female player to defeat a grandmaster in a classical game when she beat Peter Wells at the 2025 British Championships.
Sivanandan also recently achieved her first International Master norm at the Dole Trophy in France, breaking a long-standing age record previously held by Judit Polgar, according to chess columnist Leonard Barden. She also earned a second Women’s Grandmaster norm at the event.
The English Chess Federation has previously highlighted Sivanandan’s progression, noting that she began playing chess during the COVID-19 lockdown and represented England at the 2024 Chess Olympiad while still a child. Federation chief executive Richard Walsh said her achievements had established her as a leading young talent in English chess.
Sivanandan’s British women’s title comes alongside a victory in the open championship for 17-year-old Shreyas Royal, who became the youngest-ever British champion after scoring 7.5 points from nine games.
