11-Year-Old Girl Becomes Chess’ Youngest-Ever Woman Grandmaster

British chess prodigy Bodhana Sivanandan has officially written her name into the history books by becoming the youngest player ever to meet the requirements for the Woman Grandmaster (WGM) title, achieving the milestone at just 11 years old.

The International Chess Federation (FIDE) confirmed that Sivanandan’s stellar performance shattered the previous record held by Kateryna Lagno, who earned the title at age 12 in 2002.

She secured her third and final “norm” to achieve the rank, after facing stiff competition from across the world. Bodhana earned eight points in her 11 games, according to the British newspaper The Times.

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When asked by a FIDE if she felt any pressure, she simply replied, “Not really, I just tried to enjoy it, especially because this is my second Olympiad.”

“It kinda felt very similar to the last one except I was playing on a different board,” she added.

When asked what she loves the most about chess, Bodhana said, “everything, but I like traveling, and because I do full-time school, it links to loads of school subjects, so it’s really useful there as well.”

Sivanandan surpassed a long-standing age benchmark, adding this historic WGM qualification to an already incredible year that included becoming the youngest-ever winner of the British Women’s Chess Championship.

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Having picked up the game during the 2020 lockdown, the young prodigy has quickly risen through the ranks, earning widespread praise from international grandmasters for her composure, pattern recognition, and elite tactical intuition.

Unfazed by her historic achievements, Sivanandan has made it clear that she has no intention of slowing down, stating her ultimate ambition is to keep breaking barriers and pushing toward the full, open Grandmaster title.