Indian-Origin Bodhana Sivanandan Makes Chess History

By: Women Entrepreneurs Review Team | Monday, 10 August 2026

Indian-origin chess prodigies Bodhana Sivanandan, 11, and Shreyas Royal, 17, made history at the 2026 British Chess Championships in Coventry. Bodhana became Britain’s youngest-ever Women’s chess champion after defeating Ireland’s 14-year-old Trisha Kanyamarala in a tense rapid-chess playoff. Her victory was celebrated by fans chanting “Godhana” during the tournament.

Grandmaster Danny Gormally praised Bodhana as a “generational talent” after her historic win. She first discovered chess during the COVID-19 lockdown when her father’s friend, who was returning to India, gifted the family several bags of items, including a chessboard. Since then, her talent has propelled her to the top of British women’s chess at just 11. “I was interested in the pieces, so I started playing," she said at the time.

Since then, the north-west London schoolgirl has been toppling records as one of the youngest players on the circuit. In the faster formats of the game, Bodhana is already the UK Open Women's Blitz Champion and joint British Women's Rapid Champion. Her latest win at the classical format event makes it an impressive hat-trick for the 11-year-old, her only loss at the championship this weekend being to Shreyas in round six.

Key Highlights:

• Bodhana, 11, became Britain’s youngest women’s chess champion
• Shreyas Royal, 17, won his first British Chess Championship title
• The 2026 event attracted a record 1,750+ entries

Shreya, meanwhile, scooped the overall British title after he topped the table after nine rounds, finishing half a point ahead of England's more seasoned grandmasters. As his first British title, the result establishes his status as an emerging world-class talent in chess.

“Keep persisting, no matter how tough things may get," Shreya has previously said, when he was crowned England's youngest grandmaster aged 15.

The teenager from south-east London went on to make a mark as one of the UK's leading young chess players. At this year's championship, he quickly showed that he could compete with the established elite, moving into outright contention for the title as the tournament progressed.

Shreyas, who was born in India, moved to the UK aged three with parents Jitendra and Anju Singh from Bangalore. Around eight years ago, the ECF campaigned with the Home Office to allow the exceptionally talented chess prodigy to continue to reside in the UK and hone his talent.

“In 2018, as Home Secretary, I took a decision to allow Shreyas and his family to remain in the UK. Wonderful to see his extraordinary talent flourishes. Britain is proud of you, Shreyas," former minister Sajid Javid said in a social media post after Shreya's latest win.

The 2026 British Chess Championships were billed as the biggest in the event's 122-year history, with more than 1,750 entries and a record 34,000 pounds prize fund for the open championship.