She’s been chosen to represent England in September
A nine-year-old chess player is set to become the youngest person in history to represent England in international sporting competition.
Bodhana Sivanandan, from Harrow, only took up chess during lockdown, but has been chosen as one of five players on the England’s women’s team for the Chess Olympiad in Budapest in September.
The next youngest player in the teams is 23-year-old Lan Yao, while the rest of the team – Jovanka Houska, Harriet Hunt and Kata Toma – are all in their 30s and 40s.
This comes just months after she was named the best female chess player at the European Blitz Chess Championship back in December, when she was just eight.
She also won the world youth championship in 2022, the first English champion in 25 years.
On hearing the news that she had been picked for the Chess Olympiad later this year, the youngster said: “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.”
Speaking to the Guardian about Bodhana’s selection, selector Malcolm Pein said it was entirely justified.
He said: “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 in the chess world.”
Hilary Evans, a member of the International Society of Olympic Historians, told the publication he was not aware of anyone younger to have represented England or Great Britain at a senior level on the world stage.
He said: “Sky Brown made her US Skateboard Open debut when she was eight but was representing Japan until she was 11.
“Also in skateboarding Mazel Alegado of the Philippines was also nine when she competed in the Asian Games last September but I really can’t think of anybody until 10 playing for England or GB.”
After her European Blitz Chess Championship win, professional player Irina Bulmaga hailed Bodhana as a “phenomenon,” whilst English international master Lawrence Trent labelled her “one of the greatest talents I’ve witnessed in recent memory” last year.
He wrote: “The maturity of her play, her sublime touch, it’s truly breathtaking. I have no doubt she will be England’s greatest player and most likely one of the greatest the game has ever seen.”
The second Covid lockdown coincided with the release of hit Netflix show The Queen’s Gambit in late 2020. The series, starring Any Taylor-Joy, became Netflix’s most-watched scripted miniseries and is credited with sparking a boom in popularity of chess.
This may help explain the emerging crop of British chess prodigies. Shreya Royal, 15, is close to becoming England’s youngest ever grandmaster, whilst Ethan Pang is the world’s top under-nine player and Supratit Banerjee, 10, is the world number two in his age group, Sky News reports.
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