British chess prodigy Bodhana Sivanandan has made history at the age of 11 after becoming the youngest player ever to earn the Woman Grandmaster title. BBC reports that Sivanandan, who is from Harrow in north-west London, secured the third and final norm required for the title while representing England at……
British chess prodigy Bodhana Sivanandan has made history at the age of 11 after becoming the youngest player ever to earn the Woman Grandmaster title.
BBC reports that Sivanandan, who is from Harrow in north-west London, secured the third and final norm required for the title while representing England at the 46th Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
The International Chess Federation, FIDE, confirmed the achievement after Sivanandan completed all 11 rounds on England’s top board and finished the tournament with eight points.
She had already exceeded the 2,300 rating requirement for the Woman Grandmaster title before obtaining her final norm.
Reflecting on the milestone, Sivanandan said she was pleased with the achievement but remained determined to reach further heights.
“I’m happy to do it, but I want to keep going and keep making history as well, instead of just stopping here,” she said.
Her achievement eclipsed the previous record jointly held by Kateryna Lagno and Chinese chess star Hou Yifan, who both became Woman Grandmasters at 12.
The Woman Grandmaster title is the highest chess title exclusively available to female players and is awarded for life.
Sivanandan also secured her second International Master norm at the Olympiad, putting her closer to the International Master title, which is open to players regardless of gender.
Players generally need three qualifying norms and a rating of at least 2,400 to earn the International Master title.
Sivanandan’s rapid rise began during the COVID-19 pandemic when she taught herself how to play chess.
She entered her first tournament at Harrow Chess Club in July 2021 and, a year later at the age of seven, won all 24 of her games at the European Schools Championship.
In 2023, she became the youngest player to avoid defeat against a grandmaster in a competitive game after drawing against one at the European Rapid and Blitz Championship in Croatia.
The following year, aged nine, she represented England at the Chess Olympiad in Budapest, becoming the youngest person to represent England internationally in any sport, according to the English Chess Federation.
In 2025, she made another breakthrough by becoming the youngest female player to defeat a grandmaster when she beat Peter Wells at the British Chess Championships.
Sivanandan earned her first International Master norm in July 2026 at the Dole Open in France, becoming the youngest girl to achieve the feat at 11 years and four months.
At the same tournament, she defeated grandmaster Marc’Andria Maurizzi, becoming the youngest girl known to have beaten a player rated above 2,600 in a classical game.
Despite her remarkable achievements, Sivanandan said she continues to enjoy chess partly because of the opportunities it provides outside the board.
“I like travelling and also because I do full-time school as well, it links to loads of school subjects, so it’s really useful there as well,” she said.
Her father, Siva, previously told the BBC that neither he nor his wife, both engineering graduates, had a strong background in chess.
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