I have long been fascinated by chess. The intrigue came a while after I was first taught it as a child and took hold when I saw others play it. Whether that be on holiday in parks – it was always men in hot countries playing cards or intense board games in public spaces – why? – or at my secondary school where a few of us set up a makeshift chess club. In that top floor classroom, by contrast, it was all women.
I like the intensity; the relatively silent soundtrack bar a few taps of pieces being taken and deep exhales. I also, of course, adore the strategy and the merciless taking of pieces – as you hope to close in on your opponent. A quiet game of strategy; war-gaming for the peaceful. Or not. It can be brutal. Thrillingly so.
That’s why I smiled this week upon reading about a new “queen of chess”. Eleven year old Bodhana Sivanandan, from Harrow, north London, has become England’s leading female chess player – earning her a world ranking of 72nd in the female league table. Her simple but pleasing backstory is almost my favourite bit. The tale goes: she took up the game aged five during the pandemic when she found a board at home that her father, an IT worker, was going to donate to charity. She decided otherwise and YouTube tutorials mixed with playing at home, improved her skills and encouraged her interest.
But my favourite part – which I think goes hand in hand with those who excel at chess – is her ambition. And bloody-mindedness. She will need both. Of her ranking, Sivanandan said to The Times that it was “good” but “I want to keep going. I was a bit happy, but I don’t want to stop there.” Quite.
I also love that in some matches, when she became the youngest person to represent England in any sport in 2024, after being selected for the Chess Olympiad in Hungary, she had to sit on a booster seat. Divinely cute.
But make no mistake, and you can see this in action shots of her ruthlessly focused playing at the board, she ain’t messing.
Having just watched Queen of Chess – a new Netflix documentary profiling Judit Polgár, the strongest female chess player in history, it’s clear sexist attitudes may have become far less overt in the world of chess, like the wider world, but it still seems very much a boys’ club. This is despite the fact that it is a game of the mind. There is no physical strength involved.
We have seen men and women play each other in physical games and acknowledged physiological differences between the sexes, but chess is of the mind, not the body. Sexism in competitive sports’ in the usual way should never have had a place in this realm. And yet.
What Polgár, whom I had the pleasure of interviewing a few years ago, had to endure – despite her prowess and mental strength, was quite something to watch documented. Constant underestimation, constantly having to prove and reprove herself, finally beating her sporting nemesis (they ended up taking a holiday together in later years), the ultimate chess champion Garry Kasparov, she still had to learn to play a whole other game: the game of being a woman in a man’s world.
And so will Sivanandan. Despite it being 2026. It’s best not to be naive about these things. There are no set rules in a man’s world and this game definitely isn’t advertised. It’s one women have to learn by playing it live, as and when it pokes its head up – or something gets said in a snide manner by a boy or a man. You need to see it off immediately. Polgár seemed to survive working in a sea of sexism, some overt, and some decidedly less so, by keeping her cards very close to her chest.
But interestingly, I noted that it wasn’t until she fell in love and had a very supportive romantic partner by her side, who happened to be a man, that she started to play the wider game of life more strategically. His love and support gave her – what we all so often need when trying to fairly do our thing in the public sphere – total ballast. He had her back, come what may. And was interested enough in her career to help her plot her way through the many traps and pitfalls. Now that’s teamwork and strategy.
I wish only good things for our new Queen of English chess but she will need some savvy courtiers all around her.
Check your mate(s) girl. You got this. But I wish it wasn’t so tricky still.
Watching…. Teeth ’n’ Smiles – Duke of York’s Theatre
Bravo Rebecca Taylor, aka the singer Self Esteem, for taking a risk – which handsomely pays off. A David Hare revival might not sound like a risky move, especially after recently taking on Cabaret in the West End, but it is. The musician, playing a disturbed lead singer, steals the show with her portrayal of pain and demand for meaning. There’s drugs, sex and booze. Lots of it.
Reading…. Ask Me How It Works: Love in an Open Marriage – Deepa Paul
Deepa came on my podcast, Ready to Talk and to prepare – I didn’t open my marriage. Instead I read her book – which really goes there. And some. So does she in conversation. It’s a smart move to answer everyone’s questions through beautiful prose. And having spoken to her at length – writing, as so often is the case, helped her made sense of her sexual and romantic life choices too.
Listening…. Creation Myth – CBC Stories
A stunning narrative podcast about one woman’s decision not to procreate. And yet her husband believes he can change her mind. Expect the biggest questions of all. It’s beautiful, thought-provoking, and utterly existential.
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