10-year-old chess prodigy defeats grandmaster in 'near-perfect game'

10-year-old chess prodigy defeats grandmaster in 'near-perfect game'

Bodhana Sivanandan, a 10-year-old chess prodigy from London, made headlines over the summer after she became the youngest female chess player to defeat a grandmaster. This week, Sivanandan reached another important milestone in her young career.

The young talent, known as the "girl wonder," defeated former women’s world champion and grandmaster Mariya Muzychuk in the first round of the European Chess Club Cup, hosted in Greece on Sunday.

Experts called the stunning victory a "near-perfect game," The Times reported.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

Grandmaster David Howell took to social media to commend Sivanandan for her "incredible win."

"It’s not every day a 10-year-old defeats a [grandmaster] (and former world champion) in such style," his post on X read.

Sivanandan seemed quite pleased with her win, but told The Times she’s looking for more victories.

CHESS PRODIGY, 10, MAKES HISTORY AFTER DEFEATING 60-YEAR-OLD GRANDMASTER

"I’m happy to win, but hopefully I do even better in the future games … This will inspire me to keep doing better and trying harder to win more games," she said.

Sivanandan made history this summer when she defeated Grandmaster Peter Wells, 60, in the final round of the 2025 British Chess Championships in August. According to the International Chess Federation, Sivanandan set the record previously held by American Carissa Yip, who set the record in 2019 at 10 years, 11 months and 20 days old.

Sivanandan was 10 years, five months, and three days old when she defeated Wells.

She has made a name for herself since first picking up the game during the COVID-19 pandemic, when she was just 5 years old.

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

Category Sports
Published Oct 22, 2025
Last Updated 2 hours ago