Girl Wonder of chess beats a World Champion

British sensation Bodhana Sivanandan has pulled off another incredible feat—this time by becoming one of the youngest players ever to beat a former world champion.

The 10-year-old from north London pulled off a momentous result on Sunday by downing Ukraine’s former Women’s title holder Grandmaster Mariya Muzychuk at the European Club Cup in Rhodes, Greece.

“She seems to be beating a GM every week now!” the English Grandmaster Danny Gormally said.

England’s number-one Grandmaster David Howell called it an “incredible win.” He added: “It’s not every day a 10-year-old defeats a GM (and former world champion) in such style.”

Grandmaster Susan Polgar, the Women’s World Champion from 1996 to 1999, also paid tribute to Sivanandan, calling her game “impressive”.

Sivanandan is playing for the 12th-seeded team She Plays to Win Lionesses. The team lost 3-1 in Round 1 to Turkish Airlines, but Sivanandan’s point will live long in the memory.

The scale of the upset can be illustrated by the fact 33-year-old Muzychuk (2485), the Women’s world number 13, was rated 280 FIDE points above Sivanandan (2205).

Sivanandan’s rise up the ranks has been incredible and she has been breaking records for fun.

Earlier this year, the schoolgirl from Harrow who took up chess during lockdown made history by becoming the youngest female chess player ever to beat a grandmaster.

Sivanandan secured the win against 60-year-old Grandmaster Peter Wells in the last round of the 2025 British Chess Championships in Liverpool.

Sivanandan’s victory at 10 years, five months and three days beat the 2019 record held by American Carissa Yip, who went on to become an International Master. During the event, she also became the youngest ever to secure a WGM norm.

In 2024, the youngster became the youngest person ever to represent England internationally in any sport when she was selected for England Women’s Team at the Chess Olympiad in Hungary.

Sivanandan is part of a rich crop of English talent making waves in international chess. A host of top players have tipped her for stardom.

Gormally added: “English chess has been in the doldrums for so many years. We’ve had good players coming through, don’t get me wrong, but we haven’t had great players coming through for many years.

“And now we’ve suddenly got a generation with GM Shreyas Royal and Bodhana, and FM Supratit Banerjee and FM Ethan Pang and others who are actually exciting. We don’t know how strong they’re going to be.”