There was excitement building at St George’s Hall today (Saturday) as a British Chess Master has come to take on her peers. You might think the master of this 1,500 year old sport is someone with decades of experience however, you’re wrong.
Ten-year-old Bodhana Sivanandan has battled her way to the top and was crowned the Woman FIDE Master in 2024 – making her the youngest chess player to earn the title. She’s travelled up from her home in London with her “proud” mum this morning to take on players in the British Chess Championships.
The schoolgirl told the ECHO about where her chess career began – and most surprisingly it was from an unwanted chess board that was bound for a charity shop.
She said: “My dad had a friend who was going back to India, he had all these books and old toys and a chess board that was going to the charity shop but he ended up giving it to us.
“I was interested by the chess board, I loved the knights and wanted to play with them as a toy but my dad said if I used them as a toy then nobody else would be able to play with it, so instead of using it as a toy I started playing chess.”
Believe it or not that was only four years ago, in 2021, when Bodhana was just six years old. Now aged ten, she said: “I started playing with it in my bedroom, it was helping me with school subjects, like maths and music.
“Nobody in my family plays, I started learning off YouTube. I sit in my bedroom and play.” It’s not just as easy as playing in your bedroom though Bodhana tells the ECHO.
She said: “I’ve practiced hard to get to this level. I play for two hours every day because I have to go to school.”
Although, when asked if she would share any of her top-tips Bodhana said she would have to keep them secret ahead of today.
And, despite prepping to take on some of the top chess players in the country Bodhana said she “never feels nervous” before a match. Her advice, “keep going and don’t worry about who you are playing, just play the board.”
You can feel the excitement in the air at St George’s Hall today to have Bodhana here to play. One of the event organisers, Rob Steele, who works for Chess in Schools and Communities, told the ECHO how excited he was just to play a few moves on the board with the Master.
The chess player, from Fazakerley, also told the ECHO how with help from Liverpool City Council and BID, lots of free chess events will be popping up across the city.
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