Royal and Sivanandan Crowned Champions at British Chess Championships

The 2026 British Chess Championships concluded on Sunday at the University of Warwick in Coventry, with two of the youngest winners in the tournament’s 122-year history claiming the top prizes. Shreyas Royal, 17, won the overall British Championship, while Bodhana Sivanandan, 11, became the youngest-ever British Women’s Champion after a dramatic playoff victory.

The nine-day event was the biggest in British Chess Championship history, with more than 2,600 entries across all competitions and a record £34,000 prize fund for the open championship.

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Shreyas Royal: Britain’s Youngest Male Champion

Shreyas Royal secured his first British Championship title with a dominant performance, finishing half a point ahead of Grandmasters Luke McShane and nine-time champion Michael Adams. The 17-year-old from south-east London took the sole lead after seven rounds with 6/7 points, following consecutive victories over Bodhana Sivanandan and top seed Luke McShane.

Royal took a quick draw against Michael Adams in the penultimate round before a final-round win over International Master Harry Grieve secured him the title.

Remarkable Rise to the Top

Born in Bangalore, India, Royal moved to Woolwich, London at the age of three. His family faced immigration challenges in 2018 when his father’s visa was set to expire, but intervention from politicians allowed them to stay.

Since then, Royal’s chess career has progressed rapidly:

• 2021: Became England’s youngest International Master
• 2024: Became Britain’s youngest-ever Grandmaster at 15 years and 7 months
• 2026: Won his first British Championship title

Royal has received support from Google DeepMind co-founder Demis Hassabis, a former chess prodigy himself, who has sponsored his journey since 2023.

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Bodhana Sivanandan: Youngest-Ever British Women’s Champion

Eleven-year-old Bodhana Sivanandan etched her name into the record books by becoming the youngest-ever British Women’s Champion. The north-west London schoolgirl overcame 14-year-old Irish WGM Trisha Kanyamarala in a tense rapid-play playoff to claim the title.

Breaking Records

Sivanandan’s achievement surpassed previous records held by:

• Elaine Pritchard – won the British Women’s Championship at age 13 in 1939
• Akshaya Kalaiyalahan – shared the title in 2013 at 11 years and 364 days

Sivanandan has now surpassed them both, becoming the youngest outright winner in the competition’s history.

A Triple Crown

Sivanandan is already the reigning UK Open Women’s Blitz Champion and joint British Women’s Rapid Champion. Victory in the classical event gives her an incredible triple crown of titles.

During the championship, she produced one of the standout results by defeating Grandmaster Ameet Ghasi with 99% accuracy according to computer evaluation. Her only loss in the tournament came against Shreyas Royal in Round 6.

A Generational Talent

Grandmaster Danny Gormally, commentating for the English Chess Federation, said: “Unreal! Bodhana has won. She is unbelievable, a generational talent.” He predicted Sivanandan will return to challenge for the overall title in the next few years.

At just 11 years old, Sivanandan has already:

• Become England’s No. 1 female player
• Broken into the world’s top 100 women
• Become the youngest female to defeat a Grandmaster
• Earned a WGM norm
• Represented England at the Chess Olympiad – the youngest person to represent England in any sport

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A Changing Face of British Chess

The 2026 championships were billed as the biggest in the event’s 122-year history, with organisers expanding the festival programme to include junior training, social events and competitions for players ranging from under-8s to seniors.

The tournament brought together players across generations, from established grandmasters to some of Britain’s most promising juniors. And at the end, the two names at the top were Royal and Sivanandan — a testament to the bright future of British chess.

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Final Standings

Position	Player	Title	Points
1	Shreyas Royal	GM	7/9
T2	Luke McShane	GM	6.5/9
T2	Michael Adams	GM	6.5/9

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What’s Next?

Both champions will now look ahead to international competitions. Royal’s victory cements his status as one of Britain’s most promising talents, while Sivanandan will aim to continue her remarkable trajectory, with many predicting a Netflix documentary about her career in the coming years.