Sports · 4 April 2026

Bodhana Sivanandan overtakes Lan Yao to become England's top-rated female chess player

Exam-focused facts from the 4 April 2026 current affairs briefing.

Key facts

  • Bodhana Sivanandan, 11, tops the latest International Chess Federation (FIDE) rating list for England with 2366 points.
  • She displaced four-time British women's champion Lan Yao, 25, from the number-one position.
  • Sivanandan entered the world top-100 women at rank 72 for the first time.
  • Her family migrated from Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu, to England in 2007.
  • She became a Woman International Master last year and defeated former world champion Grandmaster Mariya Muzychuk of Ukraine at the European Club Cup in Rhodes, Greece.

View this story in the full daily briefing

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