Bodhana Sivanandan, 9, Set To Become Youngest England International: Who Is She?

Bodhana will become the youngest sportsperson ever to represent England internationally, when she joins the England women’s team at the Chess Olympiad in Hungary in September. The next youngest member of the team is over 14 years elder to her - the 23-year-old Lan Yao.

Who Is Bodhana Sivanandan?

Bodhana lives in Harrow, north-west London, and picked up the game during the Covid-19 lockdown, at the age of five. Her Tamil Nadu-born father Sivanandan accidentally introduced the kid to chess.

"When one of my dad’s friends was going back to India, he gave us a few bags [of possessions]. There was a chess board, and I was interested in the pieces so I started playing," a BBC report quotes Bodhana as saying.

And there has been no looking back ever since. Bodhana went on to win all three chess world championships for the under-eight age group - in the classical, rapid and blitz formats.

Her father is not sure where Bodhana gets the aptitude for chess from. "I’m an engineering graduate, as is my wife, but I’m not good at chess. I tried a couple of league games, but I was very poor," Sivanandan told the BBC.

Nevertheless, the nine-year-old has set her sights on becoming a grandmaster and winning the women’s world title. “I’m so pleased to be picked for England. It’s a great honour and I’m looking forward to being part of a team,” Bodhana said.

Malcolm Pein, one of the selectors who picked Bodhana for England's five-member squad, said the prodigy's place was fully justified. “Bodhana’s success at European level includes victories over many established players and her fearless style of play and immense focus on the board has already caused a sensation,' he told the Guardian.