9-Year-Old Bodhana to Compete in World Chess Olympiad: Aiming for Grandmaster Title

Indian-origin British girl Bodhna, who studies in fourth grade, has become the youngest player to represent England at a high level in chess.

Learned Chess Basics from YouTube and Online

It was the year 2020, and COVID-19 was spreading worldwide. During this time, Shivanandan Velayudham, an engineer living in London, had a friend who had to suddenly return to India, leaving some of his belongings in London. Among these belongings was a chess board. Shivanandan decided to throw the items away. While doing so, his 5-year-old daughter, Bodhna, got interested in the chess board. When she asked her father about it, he gave her the board and pieces, although one pawn was missing. This sparked Bodhna’s curiosity.

She then learned the basics of chess by playing on YouTube and online platforms. Gradually, she started defeating her father and winning online tournaments.

Bodhna Plays Each Move with Patience

Malcolm Payne, the Director of International Chess for the English Chess Federation, says that Bodhna is the youngest player on the team, with her other teammate, Len Yao, being 23 years old. Payne describes her as a positional player with deep knowledge about the positioning of pieces. Every move she makes is with patience. England’s International Master Chess Player Lawrence Trent believes that Bodhna will become a great player.

Ranked as a FIDE Master

Last December, Bodhna defeated several female players in the European Blitz Chess Championship and recently earned the title of FIDE Master. This title is awarded by the International Chess Federation. Bodhna has three years to achieve her first goal. The youngest player to become a Grandmaster is Abhimanyu Mishra from America, who achieved this at the age of 12 years, 4 months, and 25 days in 2021. Currently, Bodhna receives an hour of training daily from coaches at the England Chess Federation after school.

She enjoys watching games of the late Cuban player Jose Raul Capablanca. Her father says, “We have no expectations from her. We are not setting any milestones. We want her to set her own goals.”