Eleven-year-old chess player Bodhana Sivanandan breaks 38-year-old record to become International Master

Indian-origin English chess player Bodhana Sivanandan has become the youngest female International Master at the age of 11, breaking a 38-year-old record set by Judit Polgar. Sivanandan, who is from Harrow in north London, needed only a few rating points to secure the open IM title and join the top 10 youngest International Masters of all time.

Match Results

At the European Women's Chess Club Cup, Sivanandan nearly drew her first-round match against Russian Grandmaster Aleksandra Goryachkina. She then beat Belarusian International Master Olga Badelka in the third round to push her rating to 2399.4, followed by a draw against Georgian Grandmaster Nino Batsiashvili. A 32-move win over Sweden's Woman International Master Viktoria Johansson helped her claim the title.

Reactions And History

The European Chess Union congratulated Sivanandan on X for her final-round win at the event, noting she scored 5.5 out of 7 on Board 1 for the team She Plays to Win Lionesses. Other young players on the all-time list include India's R. Praggnanandhaa and D. Gukesh, Uzbekistan's Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Argentina's Faustino Oro, Turkey's Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus, and Russia's Roman Shogdzhiev.

Context

Chess titles like International Master are awarded by the sport's world governing body based on player ratings and performance in official competitions. Achieving this status at such an early age places a player among the most promising rare talents in global chess history.