11-year-old who defeated Nigerian prodigy becomes youngest Woman Grandmaster in history

Gloria Adesanya 20:04 - 28 September 2026

British schoolgirl Bodhana Sivanandan during a chess tournament. The 11-year-old fulfilled the requirements for the Woman Grandmaster title at the 2026 Chess Olympiad.

Bodhana Sivanandan discovered chess during the COVID-19 lockdown at the age of five. Six years later, the British schoolgirl has made history after defeating Nigeria’s Deborah Quickpen at the Chess Olympiad and fulfilling the requirements for the Woman Grandmaster title.

Bodhana Sivanandan discovered chess during the COVID-19 lockdown and began learning through online videos.
The 11-year-old defeated Nigeria’s WFM Deborah Ebimobo-ere Quickpen at the 2026 Chess Olympiad in Samarkand.
Her performance earned her the third and final WGM norm, making her the youngest player to fulfil the requirements for the title.

What began as a way to pass the time during lockdown has turned into a remarkable chapter in chess history.

When schools were closed and children were spending much of their time at home, Bodhana Sivanandan discovered chess. At the age of 5, the British schoolgirl of Indian heritage found a chessboard among her family’s belongings and soon became fascinated by the game.

Bodhana began learning by watching chess tutorials on YouTube. What started as a simple lockdown hobby quickly became something much bigger. She kept playing, kept learning and soon began taking on serious competition.

Now, at just 11, she has become the youngest player ever to fulfil the requirements for the Woman Grandmaster title.

Her latest milestone came at the 2026 Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, where she represented England on the top board. And her route to history included a memorable game against Nig

In the second round, England faced Nigeria, with Bodhana taking on Nigerian player WFM Deborah Ebimobo-ere Quickpen on board one. The young English player won the game, while England went on to win the match 3½–½.

Nigerian player WFM Deborah Ebimobo-ere Quickpen

It was another reminder of how far Bodhana had come from the little girl who first discovered chess during lockdown.

By the time she arrived at the Olympiad, she was no longer simply a promising youngster. She was playing on England’s top board against some of the strongest players in the world.

Across the tournament, Bodhana scored eight points from 11 games. Her performance helped her secure the final norm needed for the Woman Grandmaster title.

Earlier this year, Bodhana became Britain’s youngest-ever Women’s Chess Champion at just 11, after beating WGM Trisha Kanyamarala in a rapid playoff. She has also defeated multiple grandmasters and broken age records, including becoming the youngest girl ever to score an International Master norm.

She is already looking beyond the record she has just broken, as her next ambition is to become a full Grandmaster — a title awarded without a gender distinction and considered the highest title in chess.

Her story is also a reminder of how children can now discover and develop sporting talent in very different ways.

Bodhana did not begin her journey in a grand chess academy or on the world stage. She found a chessboard at home, turned to YouTube tutorials and began learning.

A few years later, that lockdown pastime has taken her to international tournaments, a British championship and now a place in the chess record books.