Nine-year old chess prodigy hopes to become the youngest grandmaster ever

Isabella Kwai, At 5, She Picked Up Chess as a Pandemic Hobby. At 9, She’s a Prodigy. NYTimes, July 21, 2024.

Since learning chess during a pandemic lockdown, Bodhana Sivanandan has won a European title in the game, qualified for this year’s prestigious Chess Olympiad tournament, and established herself as one of England’s best players.

She also turned 9 in March. That makes Bodhana, a prodigy from the London borough of Harrow, the youngest player to represent England at such an elite level in chess, and quite possibly the youngest in any ...