Two ten-year-old girls have recently conquered one of the world’s oldest board games, taking down two grandmasters in chess, men considered to be the kings of the sport. It all started at the 2025 British Chess Championships in Liverpool, England earlier this month. London’s Bodhana Sivanandan (10 years, 5 months, 3 days) beat 60-year old grandmaster Pete Wells to become the youngest female ever to defeat a chess grandmaster. “She’s on course to be one of the best British players ever,” Malcolm Pein, manager of the England chess team, said in an earlier article from the BBC.
Keya recorded the victory at the age of 10 years, nine months, and two days to become the youngest American female ever to defeat a grandmaster. HERE’S ANOTHER CHESS KING: 18-year-old Is Youngest World Chess Champion–Besting Garry Kasparov Who Did it in 1985 at Age 22 The Ohio resident also began playing chess during the pandemic. In addition to chess, Keya is a black-belt in taekwondo as well and a top-ranked table tennis player in the state.
She plans to compete in the Ohio Chess Congress competition at the end of the month and will likely have many other highlights in her future.
