Indian-origin English chess player Bodhana Sivanandan has become the youngest female International Master (IM) at the age of 11, breaking a 38-year-old record set by Judit Polgar.
Sivanandan, who hails from Harrow in north London, needed only a few rating points to qualify for the open IM title and break Polgar’s record, while also securing a place among the 10 youngest IMs of all time.
“Congratulations to 11-year-old Bodhana Sivanandan on becoming an International Master with a final-round win at the European Women’s Chess Club Cup 2026!” the European Chess Union wrote on X.
Congratulations to 11-year-old Bodhana Sivanandan 🏴 on becoming an International Master with a final-round win at the European Women’s Chess Club Cup 2026! 👏
Bodhana delivered a fantastic performance, scoring 5.5/7 on Board 1 for She Plays to Win Lionesses 🏴, making her the youngest female player in history to earn the IM title!
— European Chess Union (@ECUonline) October 23, 2026
“Bodhana delivered a fantastic performance, scoring 5.5/7 on Board 1 for She Plays to Win Lionesses, making her the youngest female player in history to earn the IM title,” it added.
At this week’s European Women’s Chess Club Cup, Sivanandan came close to drawing her opening-round match against Russian Grandmaster Aleksandra Goryachkina before defeating Belarusian International Master Olga Badelka in the third round to take her rating to 2399.4.
She then drew against Georgian Grandmaster Nino Batsiashvili in the following round.
However, her 32-move victory over Sweden’s Woman International Master Viktoria Johansson helped her achieve the distinction and join the list of the 10 youngest IMs of all time.
The list includes 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.
(With inputs from PTI)
