Bodhana Sivanandan, 11, becomes youngest woman International Master, breaks Polgar's record

An 11-year-old chess player of Indian origin has broken a record that had stood for 38 years. Bodhana Sivanandan, who lives in Harrow in north London, has become the youngest female International Master (IM) in the history of the game, surpassing the mark set by Hungary's Judit Polgar.

The International Master title is awarded by the sport's governing body, FIDE, and sits one level below Grandmaster. It is normally achieved by players well into adulthood, making Sivanandan's feat at 11 exceptional even by the standards of a sport that has produced several prodigies in recent years.

The European Chess Union confirmed the achievement in a post on X, writing: "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!" The body added that she "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."

Sivanandan went into the tournament needing only a handful of rating points to qualify for the open IM title. She came close to drawing her opening-round match against Russian Grandmaster Aleksandra Goryachkina, then defeated Belarusian International Master Olga Badelka in the third round to take her rating to 2399.4. She followed that with a draw against Georgian Grandmaster Nino Batsiashvili.

Her decisive result came in a 32-move victory over Sweden's Woman International Master Viktoria Johansson, which pushed her past the required threshold and earned her a place among the 10 youngest International Masters of all time.

That list is a striking illustration of how the centre of gravity in world chess has shifted towards younger players, and towards Asia. It includes India's R. Praggnanandhaa and D. Gukesh — the latter now the world champion — along with Uzbekistan's Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Argentina's Faustino Oro, Turkey's Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus and Russia's Roman Shogdzhiev. Several of them were awarded their titles before turning 13.

Sivanandan's progress has been followed closely in Britain, where she has been widely described as one of the country's most promising young players. Her achievement is also notable for coming in open competition: the IM title is not a women-only distinction, and the rating requirements are identical for all players.

Polgar, whose record she has now bettered, is widely regarded as the strongest female player in history and competed for decades at the highest level against the world's leading male players. That Sivanandan has matched her pace at the same age will invite comparisons, though coaches and players alike caution that early success is no guarantee of a Grandmaster title, which requires three qualifying norms as well as a rating of 2500.

For now, the 11-year-old from Harrow has a record, a place in the sport's history books, and time on her side.