An 11-year-old Indian-origin British prodigy from Harrow in north London has rewritten the history books. Bodhana Sivanandan has become the youngest female International Master (IM) in chess history, breaking a long-standing record held by the legendary Judit Polgar.
The Class 6 student achieved the milestone on Friday after winning her final-round game against 2034-rated Woman International Master Viktoria Johansson at the European Club Cup. That victory secured her third and final IM norm, confirming the title at an age when most players are still learning the basics of competitive chess.
Bodhana Sivanandan’s result places her as the seventh-youngest International Master of all time. She now sits just below World Championship challenger Javokhir Sindarov and ahead of world champion on the all-time youngest IM list. Judit Polgar earned her IM title in 1988 at the age of 12, a mark that stood for nearly four decades until Friday’s result in Europe.
The achievement is the latest in a rapid rise that has seen the Harrow schoolgirl treat records as routine. She is the youngest player ever to earn a Woman Grandmaster (WGM) norm and the youngest female to claim the Woman International Master (WIM) title. In 2025, she became the youngest girl to defeat a grandmaster. Earlier this year, at 11 years and four months, she was already the youngest girl to score an IM norm.
Bodhana Sivanandan, whose father hails from Tiruchirappalli in Tamil Nadu, has also rewritten British history. She won the British Championships women’s title, surpassing the mark set by Elaine Pritchard, who won the title outright at the age of 13 in 1939. Away from the board, she is a typical Class 6 student who enjoys mathematics and endgames, and she plays the violin and piano.
Her path into chess began during the pandemic when she was five. A family friend returning to India left a chess set among items given to her father. Curiosity took over from there. She started watching videos, learning the rules, and quickly developed a competitive edge that has defined her short career so far.
The young player has remained focused rather than celebrating individual milestones. In an earlier interview with HT after her British Championships success, she explained how she marked the moment. “I didn’t do much,” she said. “I just kind of went back to chess and started preparing for the Olympiad.”
With the IM title now secured, attention will turn to how quickly Bodhana Sivanandan can push toward the Grandmaster title and further challenge age records in open chess. For now, the 11-year-old from Harrow has already secured her place among the youngest title holders the game has ever seen.
