British chess prodigy Bodhana Sivanandan, 11, has become the youngest player in history to earn the Woman Grandmaster (WGM) title, the BBC reported on Monday.
Sivanandan, who is from Harrow in northwest London, secured her third and final WGM norm while representing England at the 46th Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, the International Chess Federation (FIDE) confirmed.
The 11-year-old played all 11 rounds on England’s top board, a position reserved for the team’s leading player, and finished the tournament with eight points.
She had already surpassed the 2,300 rating requirement for the WGM title before securing her final norm.
Speaking to FIDE, Sivanandan said she was delighted with the achievement but intended to continue setting new records.
“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.
Sivanandan’s achievement eclipsed the previous record jointly held by Kateryna Lagno and China’s Hou Yifan, who both earned the Woman Grandmaster title at the age of 12.
The WGM title is the highest FIDE chess title reserved exclusively for female players and is awarded for life.
Sivanandan also secured her second International Master (IM) norm at the Olympiad, bringing her closer to the higher title, which is open to players of all genders.
Players normally need three qualifying norms and a rating of at least 2,400 to earn the International Master title.
According to the BBC, Sivanandan’s rise began during the COVID-19 pandemic, when she taught herself to play chess.
She entered her first tournament at Harrow Chess Club in July 2021 and, a year later at the age of seven, won all 24 of her games at the European Schools Championship.
In 2023, she became the youngest player to avoid defeat against a grandmaster in a competitive game after drawing with a grandmaster at the European Rapid and Blitz Championship in Croatia.
A year later, at nine, she represented England at the Chess Olympiad in Budapest, becoming the youngest person to represent England internationally in any sport, according to the English Chess Federation.
Last year, aged 10, she became the youngest female player to defeat a grandmaster when she beat Peter Wells at the British Chess Championships.
In July 2026, Sivanandan earned her first International Master norm at the Dole Open in France, becoming the youngest girl to achieve the feat at 11 years and four months.
She also defeated grandmaster Marc’Andria Maurizzi at the tournament, becoming the youngest girl known to have beaten a player rated above 2,600 in a classical game.
Sivanandan said she remains passionate about chess partly because of the opportunities it provides to travel and its links with her education.
“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 said.
Her father, Siva, previously told the BBC that neither he nor his wife, both engineering graduates, had a strong background in chess.
