Indian-origin prodigies Bodhana Sivanandan, Shreyas Royal make British chess history
London: Indian-origin chess prodigies 11-year-old Bodhana Sivanandan and 17-year-old Shreyas Royal made chess history over the weekend, winning the 2026 British Chess Championships.
Bodhana became Britain's youngest-ever Women's chess champion at the games which concluded in Coventry on Sunday. Cheered on as "Godhana" during the rounds, she clinched her title in a tense rapid-chess playoff with Ireland's 14-year-old Trisha Kanyamarala, a promising talent in her own right.
"Unreal! Bodhana has won. She is unbelievable, a generational talent," said Grandmaster Danny Gormally, as he wrapped his commentary for the English Chess Federation (ECF).
Also Read: Praggnanandhaa wins St. Louis Rapid and Blitz
Bodhana famously first picked up chess during the COVID pandemic lockdown when her father's friend was going back to India and gave her a few bags, which included a chess board.
"I was interested in the pieces, so I started playing," she said at the time.
Since then, the north-west London schoolgirl has been toppling records as one of the youngest players on the circuit. In the faster formats of the game, Bodhana is already the UK Open Women's Blitz Champion and joint British Women's Rapid Champion. Her latest win at the classical format event makes it an impressive hat-trick for the 11-year-old, her only loss at the championship this weekend being to Shreyas Royal in round six.
Also Read: This 100-house Gujarat village has 17 international chess players: How one teacher’s dream of turning needy kids into grandmasters is making India proud
Royal, meanwhile, scooped the overall British title after he topped the table after nine rounds, finishing half a point ahead of England's more seasoned grandmasters. As his first British title, the result establishes his status as an emerging world-class talent in chess.
"Keep persisting, no matter how tough things may get," Royal has previously said, when he was crowned England's youngest grandmaster aged 15.
The teenager from south-east London went on to make a mark as one of the UK's leading young chess players. At this year's championship, he quickly showed that he could compete with the established elite, moving into outright contention for the title as the tournament progressed.
Shreyas, who was born in India, moved to the UK aged three with parents Jitendra and Anju Singh from Bangalore. Around eight years ago, the ECF campaigned with the Home Office to allow the exceptionally talented chess prodigy to continue to reside in the UK and hone his talent.
"In 2018, as Home Secretary, I took a decision to allow Shreyas and his family to remain in the UK. Wonderful to see his extraordinary talent flourish. Britain is proud of you, Shreyas," former minister Sajid Javid said in a social media post after Royal's latest win.
The 2026 British Chess Championships were billed as the biggest in the event's 122-year history, with more than 1,750 entries and a record 34,000 pounds prize fund for the open championship.
Bodhana became Britain's youngest-ever Women's chess champion at the games which concluded in Coventry on Sunday. Cheered on as "Godhana" during the rounds, she clinched her title in a tense rapid-chess playoff with Ireland's 14-year-old Trisha Kanyamarala, a promising talent in her own right.
"Unreal! Bodhana has won. She is unbelievable, a generational talent," said Grandmaster Danny Gormally, as he wrapped his commentary for the English Chess Federation (ECF).
Also Read: Praggnanandhaa wins St. Louis Rapid and Blitz
Bodhana famously first picked up chess during the COVID pandemic lockdown when her father's friend was going back to India and gave her a few bags, which included a chess board.
"I was interested in the pieces, so I started playing," she said at the time.
Since then, the north-west London schoolgirl has been toppling records as one of the youngest players on the circuit. In the faster formats of the game, Bodhana is already the UK Open Women's Blitz Champion and joint British Women's Rapid Champion. Her latest win at the classical format event makes it an impressive hat-trick for the 11-year-old, her only loss at the championship this weekend being to Shreyas Royal in round six.
Also Read: This 100-house Gujarat village has 17 international chess players: How one teacher’s dream of turning needy kids into grandmasters is making India proud
Royal, meanwhile, scooped the overall British title after he topped the table after nine rounds, finishing half a point ahead of England's more seasoned grandmasters. As his first British title, the result establishes his status as an emerging world-class talent in chess.
"Keep persisting, no matter how tough things may get," Royal has previously said, when he was crowned England's youngest grandmaster aged 15.
The teenager from south-east London went on to make a mark as one of the UK's leading young chess players. At this year's championship, he quickly showed that he could compete with the established elite, moving into outright contention for the title as the tournament progressed.
Shreyas, who was born in India, moved to the UK aged three with parents Jitendra and Anju Singh from Bangalore. Around eight years ago, the ECF campaigned with the Home Office to allow the exceptionally talented chess prodigy to continue to reside in the UK and hone his talent.
"In 2018, as Home Secretary, I took a decision to allow Shreyas and his family to remain in the UK. Wonderful to see his extraordinary talent flourish. Britain is proud of you, Shreyas," former minister Sajid Javid said in a social media post after Royal's latest win.
The 2026 British Chess Championships were billed as the biggest in the event's 122-year history, with more than 1,750 entries and a record 34,000 pounds prize fund for the open championship.
Next Story