London schoolgirl, 11, becomes youngest chess player in history to earn title of woman grandmaster

A London schoolgirl has become the youngest chess player in history to earn title of woman grandmaster.

Bodhana Sivanandan, from Harrow, northwest London, secured the title at the 46th Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, Uzbekistan on Sunday, September 27.

Playing on England’s top board, the 11-year-old won eight points across 11 games against some of the world's top players.

Bodhana Sivanandan has become the youngest chess player in history to earn title of woman grandmaster

Getty Images

She defeated Ireland's 14-year-old Trisha Kanyamarala, the first Irishwoman to hold the Woman Grandmaster title.

Her new status was confirmed by the International Chess Federation after she earned her third and final “norm” – an official certificate that showed a player performing at an elite level.

Kateryna Lagno previously held it, representing both Russia and Ukraine, and became WGM in 2002 at age 12.

Grandmaster is the highest title a chess player can attain, and the rank is held for life.

The International Chess Federation shared that the 11-year-old "pulled off the win against 60-year-old Grandmaster Peter Wells in the last round of the 2025 British Chess Championships in Liverpool.

“Sivanandan's victory at 10 years, five months and three days beats the 2019 record held by American Carissa Yip (10 years, 11 months and 20 days),” it added on X.

Sivanandan first began playing chess during the Covid-19 pandemic, and learnt by watching YouTube tutorials.

She has said that playing chess makes her “feel good”, as well as helping her with "lots of other things like maths, how to calculate".

“I was fascinated by how the pieces looked, especially the knight and the queen, and I wanted to use them as toys outside of chess,” she previously explained.

She first entered a tournament at the Harrow Chess Club in 2021, then entered the European Schools Championship the following year, where she won all 24 matches.

Sivanandan then started competing against players with decades more experience and became the youngest person to avoid defeat at the European Rapid and Blitz chess tournaments in Croatia.

Former chancellor Rachel Reeves congratulated Sivanandan on social media: “Huge congratulations Bodhana — a chess superstar and just 11 years old. So pleased to see you continue to progress.”