10-Year-Old Keya Jha Defeats Grandmaster Hours After Bodhana, Sets U.S. Record

10-Year-Old Keya Defeats Grandmaster Hours After Bodhana, Sets U.S. Record

When 10-year-old Keya Jha beat a grandmaster in the final round of the Joe Yun Memorial, she not only clinched first place in the tournament, but also set a U.S. record for being the youngest American girl to defeat a grandmaster in a classical game.

Last week, Chess.com reported on WFM Bodhana Sivanandan's brilliant achievement at the 2025 British Chess Championship, in which she became the youngest girl ever to defeat a grandmaster, and the youngest to achieve the Woman International Master (WIM) title.

Remarkably, Bodhana's victory came on August 10, the very same day that Keya defeated GM Bryan Smith in the final round of the Joe Yun Memorial in Akron, Ohio. With Bodhana competing in the European morning and Keya later in the U.S., the two 10-year-olds achieved their feats just hours apart.

Keya Jha with the $2,000 first prize in the Joe Yun Memorial, together with Chief Tournament Director Kathy Lin. Photo: Courtesy of Ayoosh Jha.

At 10 years, nine months, and two days old, Keya was two months younger than IM Carissa Yip in 2014 when she defeated GM Alexander Ivanov, which means Keya has set an American record for the youngest girl to defeat a grandmaster in a classical game.

The win capped off a fantastic tournament run for the 10-year-old, as she scored 4.5/5 to cash in the $2,000 first-place prize, ahead of Smith and FM Dalton Perrine.

# Player Rating Points 1 Keya Jha 1820 4.5 2 GM Bryan G Smith 2371 4 3 FM Dalton Perrine 2162 4 4 FM Gabriel Petesch 2332 3.5 5 CM Sharath Radhakrishnan 2188 3 6 Braeden Spenser Hart 2033 3 7 Justin Storn 2075 3 8 Ralph Tan 2043 3 9 Daniel J Lee 1970 3 10 Rocky Wang 1987 2.5 11 Henri Van Zandweghe 1861 2.5 12 Benjamin Gu Lin 1989 2.5 13 Arjun Gorakh Soni 1871 2.5 14 Gurugrahan Gurumoorthi 1875 2.5 15 Varun Sathyajeeth 1827 2.5

Speaking to Chess.com, Keya's father Ayoosh Jha explained that the win came under dramatic circumstances as Smith lost on time in a winning position.

"She was in a state of disbelief about what had happened," he said, adding. "She had to cross-check with the tournament director twice about whether she had really won. She was happy and relieved."

She was in a state of disbelief about what had happened.

—Ayoosh Jha, father of Keya

Bryan Smith explains the loss:

In an email to Chess.com, Bryan Smith called the loss in a winning position "devastating" and explained that he had simply got the time control wrong. "I had played in the two-day time control. When round three came (the merge), I went to check the time control on a flyer I had printed out which was in my car, since nowhere was the time control posted in the tournament hall or by the wallcharts. Nor did I hear any announcement before round three. According to the flyer, it was 40/90 SD 30 with a 30-second increment." "Round 5 was the only one of my games that went beyond move 40. So at move 42 I let my time run out, since I assumed I receive another 30 minutes. When my "flag" fell and 30 minutes were not added, I assumed they had set the clock wrong. That's when I found out that there was only one time control, 90 minutes for the whole game with a 30-second increment. I ran to my car, found the flyer and discovered it was from 2024. I had printed out the wrong flyer." "It was completely devastating to lose on time in such an easily winning position. I lost over $1,200 as a result (difference between clear first and tie for second), and obviously I lost the rating points as well. I immediately had to drive 7 hours home in a state of total despair. "

Regardless, a win is a win, and it is not the first time a player wins under somewhat lucky circumstances.

Keya Jha is the second-youngest girl to defeat a grandmaster in a classical game. Photo: Courtesy of Ayoosh Jha.

Keya was born in Redwood, California, to parents of Indian origin. She discovered chess at the age of 4.5, but it was only when she was seven, during the pandemic, that she started playing in tournaments. "She picked up some of the rules when she saw me playing online and got intrigued by how the pieces moved. She sat next to me every day, and I taught her all the other rules," Keya's father said.

Fast forward three years, and the youngster is now closing in on her goal of becoming a National Master (NM), having picked up 79 rating points in Ohio. She is also set to climb significantly on the list of the nation's highest-ranked girls under 11.

Keya has worked with GM Dmitry Gordievsky since September 2024, a move that her father says has taken her game to a new level. "Another huge part of her journey has been her mom. Even though she didn’t know much about chess at first, she’s always been by her side—helping her practice, giving advice, and encouraging her to push further."

Keya herself was interviewed last week on her "surreal experience" by the Columbus Chess Academy. "A dream come true," she said.

Beyond her skills on the chessboard, Keya has other talents. At just 10, she is academically accelerated and currently in 7th grade and studying advanced math. She also has a black belt in taekwondo and is a top-ranked tennis player in Ohio.

Having almost achieved her goal of becoming an NM, she has set her eyes on chasing the FM title. Keya's next event is the Ohio Chess Congress, which takes place August 29-31.

Click here to read article