11-year-old sets record as youngest woman chess grandmaster

British 11-year-old chess prodigy Bodhana Sivanandan has set a new record as the youngest woman to earn the Woman Grandmaster title, according to the International Chess Federation. The Harrow, northwest London resident achieved her final norm while representing England at the 46th Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. Sivanandan, who began learning chess during the COVID-19 pandemic, played all 11 rounds on her team's top board and secured eight points to surpass the 2,300 rating requirement for the Woman Grandmaster title.

Sivanandan expressed her joy at the accomplishment but emphasized her desire to continue breaking records. She now holds the record for the youngest woman to achieve the Woman Grandmaster title, surpassing the previous record of 12 years held by Kateryna Lagno and Hou Yifan. Sivanandan's journey in chess began during the pandemic, when she taught herself to play and entered her first tournament at Harrow Chess Club in July 2021.

She went on to win all 24 of her games at the European Schools Championship a year later and became the youngest person to avoid defeat against a grandmaster at the European Rapid and Blitz Championship in Croatia in 2023.