8-Year-Old Makes Chess History: England's First World Youth Champion in 25 Years

British chess sensation WCM Bodhana Sivanandan made history today, scoring 10/10 to become England's first world youth champion in 25 years and complete a historic triple crown.

The eight-year-old prodigy is dominating the Girls Under 8 category of the World Cadet Championship in Egypt and clinched the title today with a round to spare. Before the 11th and final round on Thursday, she has a two-point lead over Yi Ruiyu from China.

The decisive game in today's 10th round ended with a rook sacrifice on g7 against Mehriban Ahmadli from Azerbaijan.

It's a stunning performance by the talented youngster, who now has the triple crown in the Girls Under 8 category. Earlier in June, in Batumi, Georgia, she also secured two world championship titles in rapid and blitz, a repetition of the two titles she won in 2022. To add to her incredible list of accomplishments, the eight-year-old has won every single one of the 32 games she's played in the three events. 

The historic achievement makes Sivanandan England's first world youth champion in 25 years. In 1998, GM Nicholas Pert won gold in the World Youth U18 Championship, while WIM Ruth Sheldon won the Girls U18 title, five years after having won the Girls U14 title.

British GM Peter Wells praised the mature play of his compatriot on X/Twitter.

Bodhana has just secured a terrific 9/9 in the World U-8 girls after a high quality struggle. What amazes me is that the areas in which she most impresses - level headedness under pressure and endgame technique - are ones you expect to come with age and experience!@ecfchess https://t.co/iUBBp4SM8n

— Peter Wells (@GMPeteWells) October 24, 2023

Sivanandan previously caught the chess world's attention in December, when, as a seven-year-old, she remarkably won the UK Women's Blitz Championship, breaking the age record by more than four years.

"She has a pragmatic, no-nonsense approach to blitz chess, where her preferred approach is to play the first 20 or so moves fast, establish a lead on the clock and a slight edge on the board, swap queens to favour her endgame skills, and then win on position or time," legendary chess columnist Leonard Barden wrote in The Guardian.

In June, ChessBase India called her the most talented eight-year-old in the world at that moment. "I don't really have a secret. I just played naturally and win the games," Sivanandan told the site, adding that she wants to become the youngest grandmaster in the world.

The young girl also recently captivated thousands of chess fans in the Chess.com-produced video where Sivanandan met with 79-year-old former British Chess Champion FM Peter Lee.

Sivanandan recently became an ambassador for ChessKid, with their CCO FM Mike Klein saying it was due to her being "both adorable and ferocious."

"I met Bodhana for the first time at the London Chess Festival this summer, where she played an online match in front of thousands of people. Even though her games were displayed on a Jumbotron in Trafalgar Square, she acted like it was a walk in the park. I'm not surprised at all that she handled the pressure well in her world championship quest and I'm thinking this is the first of many. She's a perfect mix of talent and spunk," says Klein.

Sivanandan's achievements are welcome for a nation that was once leading in Europe, but has struggled with recruiting top grandmasters for decades. Alongside Sivanandan, England's biggest prospect is 14-year-old IM Shreyas Royal, also an ambassador for ChessKid, who is ranked among the world's top players in his category.

In August, chess in England was given what England's Mister Chess IM Malcolm Pein described as a "potentially transformational" boost when the U.K. government announced a £1.25M investment in the English Chess Federation, 100 new chess tables in public parks, and plans to expand the game in schools.

The future of English chess is looking brighter.