{"id":10776,"date":"2026-08-10T13:10:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-10T13:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/?p=10776"},"modified":"2026-08-10T13:10:00","modified_gmt":"2026-08-10T13:10:00","slug":"indian-origin-teenagers-bodhana-sivanandan-and-shreyas-royal-become-2026-british-chess-champions-chess-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/?p=10776","title":{"rendered":"Indian-origin teenagers Bodhana Sivanandan and Shreyas Royal become 2026 British chess champions | Chess News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"e9jwa\">\n<div class=\"vdo_embedd\">\n<div class=\"GfdvZ\">\n<section class=\"_bIDB  clearfix id-r-component leadmedia undefined undefined  E9tg9 \" style=\"top:0px\">\n<div class=\"_bIDB\" data-ua-type=\"1\" onclick=\"stpPgtnAndPrvntDefault(event)\">\n<div class=\"ypVvZ\">\n<div class=\"WGttI\"><img src=\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/thumb\/msid-133099259,imgsize-137561,width-400,height-225,resizemode-4\/bodhana-sivanandan-and-shreyas-royal.jpg\" alt=\"Indian-origin teenagers Bodhana Sivanandan and Shreyas Royal become 2026 British chess champions\" title=\"Bodhana Sivanandan and Shreyas Royal\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Ta7d_ img_cptn\"><span title=\"Bodhana Sivanandan and Shreyas Royal\">Bodhana Sivanandan and Shreyas Royal<\/span><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Indian-origin teenagers Bodhana Sivanandan and Shreyas Royal have made a major mark on British chess after winning the women\u2019s and open titles at the 2026 British Chess Championships in Coventry.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"2\"\/>Bodhana, just 11, became the youngest-ever British women\u2019s champion after beating 14-year-old Ireland-based talent Trisha Kanyamarala in a tense rapid-chess playoff.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"4\"\/><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"6\"\/>Her performance drew huge praise, with Grandmaster Danny Gormally saying: &#8220;Unreal! Bodhana has won. She is unbelievable, a generational talent,&#8221; during his commentary for the English Chess Federation.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"8\"\/>Bodhana\u2019s chess journey began during the COVID-19 lockdown, when a family friend gave her a chess board while returning to India. <!-- -->\u201cI was interested in the pieces, so I started playing,&#8221; she said at the time.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"13\"\/>Since then, the north-west London schoolgirl has collected major honours, including the UK Open Women\u2019s Blitz title and a share of the British Women\u2019s Rapid crown.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"16\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h2>Shreyas Royal won British Championship in open category<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"18\"\/>Seventeen-year-old Shreyas Royal won the Open British Championship after finishing half a point ahead of England\u2019s experienced grandmasters following nine rounds. It is his first British title and another major step in his rise as a top young chess player.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"21\"\/>Royal, who moved from Bangalore to the UK with his family at the age of three, became England\u2019s youngest grandmaster at 15.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"23\"\/>His latest victory also attracted praise from former minister Sajid Javid, who recalled helping Royal\u2019s family remain in Britain.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"25\"\/>\u201cIn 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,&#8221; he said.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"27\"\/>The 2026 championships featured more than 1,750 entries and a record \u00a334,000 prize fund for the open event.<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/sports\/chess\/indian-origin-teenagers-bodhana-sivanandan-and-shreyas-royal-become-2026-british-chess-champions\/articleshow\/133097814.cms\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Bodhana Sivanandan and Shreyas Royal Indian-origin teenagers Bodhana Sivanandan and Shreyas Royal have made a major mark on British chess after winning the women\u2019s and open titles at the 2026 British Chess Championships in Coventry.Bodhana, just 11, became the youngest-ever British women\u2019s champion after beating 14-year-old Ireland-based talent Trisha Kanyamarala in a tense rapid-chess playoff.Her [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10777,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10776","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-31"],"magazineBlocksPostFeaturedMedia":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/bodhana-sivanandan-and-shreyas-royal.jpg","medium":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/bodhana-sivanandan-and-shreyas-royal.jpg","medium_large":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/bodhana-sivanandan-and-shreyas-royal.jpg","large":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/bodhana-sivanandan-and-shreyas-royal.jpg","1536x1536":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/bodhana-sivanandan-and-shreyas-royal.jpg","2048x2048":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/bodhana-sivanandan-and-shreyas-royal.jpg","blogsy-small":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/bodhana-sivanandan-and-shreyas-royal.jpg","blogsy-small-tall":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/bodhana-sivanandan-and-shreyas-royal.jpg","blogsy-small-square":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/bodhana-sivanandan-and-shreyas-royal.jpg","blogsy-small-masonry":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/bodhana-sivanandan-and-shreyas-royal.jpg","blogsy-medium":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/bodhana-sivanandan-and-shreyas-royal.jpg","blogsy-medium-masonry":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/bodhana-sivanandan-and-shreyas-royal.jpg","blogsy-large":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/bodhana-sivanandan-and-shreyas-royal.jpg","blogsy-wide":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/bodhana-sivanandan-and-shreyas-royal.jpg"},"magazineBlocksPostAuthor":{"name":"admin","avatar":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8709732a479614e7a8aa24d3eb1b239f30dc6d90c61464ed495001e7a469d856?s=96&d=mm&r=g"},"magazineBlocksPostCommentsNumber":"0","magazineBlocksPostExcerpt":"Bodhana Sivanandan and Shreyas Royal Indian-origin teenagers Bodhana Sivanandan and Shreyas Royal have made a major mark on British chess after winning the women\u2019s and open titles at the 2026 British Chess Championships in Coventry.Bodhana, just 11, became the youngest-ever British women\u2019s champion after beating 14-year-old Ireland-based talent Trisha Kanyamarala in a tense rapid-chess playoff.Her [&hellip;]","magazineBlocksPostCategories":["\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36 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