Nine-year-old Indian origin chess prodigy set to make history for England

Bodhana Sivanandan, a nine-year-old Indian-origin schoolgirl, is set to make chess history as the youngest person ever selected to represent England internationally in any sport.

Bodhana, from Harrow in north-west London, will join the England Women's Team at the Chess Olympiad in Budapest, Hungary, in September.

"I found out yesterday after I came back from school when my dad told me. I was happy. I hope I'll do well and get another title," she told the BBC on Wednesday.

Malcolm Pein, manager of the England chess team, described the schoolgirl as one of the most remarkable British chess prodigies he has ever seen. "It's exciting she's on course to be one of the best British players ever," he said.

Bodhana first picked up chess during the pandemic lockdown when her father Siva's friend left behind a chessboard when he returned to India. Since then, it has been a partnership to savor for the child prodigy.

Last December, Sivanandan won the European Blitz Chess Championship in Zagreb, Croatia, and was dubbed "super talented" at the time.

Soon after, she was among a group of young chess enthusiasts invited by British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to 10 Downing Street to mark the government's major new GBP 1 million investment package for the game.

The package aims to support children attending schools in disadvantaged areas across England to learn and play chess, improve the visibility and availability of the game, and fund elite players.