At just 11 years old, Bodhana Sivanandan made history by becoming Britain’s No.1 female chess player. The north London-based student achieved the milestone after the latest rankings update by FIDE on 1st April 2026.
With this success, Bodhana overtakes the 4 times British Women’s Champion Lan Yao. She is now ranked above all female players across the United Kingdom and also entered the world’s top 100 women for the first time, currently placed at No.72.
Her rise in the world of chess has been extraordinary. With a FIDE rating of 2366, Bodhana’s recent performances at tournaments in France, Austria and the 4NCL in Coventry played a important role in getting her ranking higher. Just recently, she completed the Reykjavik Open in Iceland, securing 4 wins against strong international opponents.
What makes her journey even more inspiring is how it started. Bodhana picked up chess during lockdown, after discovering a chessboard her father planned to throw away. From that moment, her interest turned into passion and then went into excellence.
Over the past year, she broke various of records. Last year, she became the youngest female player to defeat a grandmaster. She won Peter Wells at the british chess championships. She also secured major victory against former world champion Mariya Muzychuk at the European Club Cup.
In 2024, Bodhana made history again as the youngest person to represent England in any sport, when she was selected for national women’s team at Chess Olympiad in Hungary. Bodhana was born in London, and family has roots in Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu, India, her journey does not only reflect her talent but also her discipline and strong support from her family.
Sources: First Post
