British chess prodigy, Bodhana Sivanandan, has become the youngest player in history to earn the Woman Grandmaster (WGM) title at the age of 11.
Sivanandan, from Harrow in north-west London, secured her third and final WGM norm while representing England at the 46th Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, with the International Chess Federation confirming her achievement.
The schoolgirl had already crossed the required 2,300 rating mark before completing her third norm.
She played all 11 rounds on England’s top board and finished the tournament with eight points.
Speaking to FIDE, Sivanandan said she was pleased with the milestone but was determined to achieve more.
“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 latest achievement adds to a remarkable list of records.
She is already Britain’s youngest women’s chess champion and became the youngest person to represent England internationally in any sport when she was selected for the Chess Olympiad in Budapest at the age of nine.
Sivanandan also earned her second International Master norm in Samarkand, moving closer to the open International Master title.
Players generally need three qualifying norms and a rating of at least 2,400 to earn the title, which is open to both male and female players.
The WGM title is the highest women-only title in chess and is held for life.
Kateryna Lagno previously held the record for the youngest player to achieve it, having done so at 12.
Chinese chess star Hou Yifan also earned the WGM title at 12 and remains the youngest woman to achieve the higher open Grandmaster title, which she attained at 14.
Sivanandan began playing chess during the coronavirus lockdown after teaching herself the game. She entered her first tournament at Harrow Chess Club in July 2021.
A year later, at seven, she won all 24 of her games at the European Schools Championship.
In 2023, she became the youngest person to avoid defeat against a grandmaster in a competitive game at the European Rapid and Blitz Championship in Croatia.
Last year, aged 10, she became the youngest female player to defeat a grandmaster after beating Peter Wells at the British Chess Championships.
In July, Sivanandan secured her first IM norm at the Dole Open in France, aged 11 years and four months, becoming the youngest girl to achieve the feat.
She also defeated Grandmaster Marc’Andria Maurizzi, becoming the youngest girl known to beat a player rated above 2,600 in a classical game.
Despite her rapid rise, Sivanandan continues to attend school full-time.
“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 told FIDE.
