British schoolgirl Bodhana Sivanandan has set a world record at the age of 11, becoming the youngest woman grandmaster (WGM) in chess history. She achieved the required result at the World Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, infohub.kz reports.
At the Olympiad, Sivanandan played for England on the top board in all 11 rounds, scoring 8 points. That was enough to earn the grandmaster title. By then, her rating had already surpassed 2300.
The previous record was held by Kateryna Lagno, and before her by Hou Yifan. Both players earned the woman grandmaster title at the age of 12.
Notably, the WGM title is just the latest high-profile achievement for the girl. Last year, at the age of 10, she became the youngest chess player to defeat a grandmaster. And in July, she earned her first international master norm, also becoming the youngest woman to do so.
Sivanandan took up chess during the coronavirus pandemic and taught herself to play. As early as July 2021, she played her first tournament at the Harrow Chess Club, one of the oldest chess clubs in the UK. A year later, at the age of seven, she won all 24 games at the European School Chess Championship.
In 2023, Sivanandan became the youngest player to draw with a grandmaster in an official game. A year later, at nine, she made her debut for England at the Chess Olympiad. She became the youngest player ever to represent the country at international competitions in any sport. She continues to attend school while traveling to international tournaments.
Earlier, Kursiv LifeStyle reported that Kazakhstan received a FIDE award for the development of women's chess.