Bodhana Sivanandan, an 11-year-old British schoolgirl, has become the youngest woman grandmaster in chess history after securing her title at the Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. She achieved this by winning eight points across 11 games and earning her third norm required for the grandmaster status. The previous record was held by Kateryna Lagno and Hou Yifan, who both earned their titles at age 12. Sivanandan's father introduced her to chess during the pandemic, but she quickly surpassed him in skill through online tutorials. She also holds other notable achievements, including becoming Britain’s youngest-ever Women's Chess Champion earlier this summer.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-27,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
11-year-old Bodhana Sivanandan from London, England, has become the youngest woman grandmaster in chess history. At the 46th Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, Sivanandan secured her third and final "norm," an official certificate indicating elite performance, confirming her status with the International Chess Federation (FIDE). She won eight points across eleven games against top players, achieving this milestone while representing England. Previously, the title was held by Kateryna Lagno at age 12 in 2002 and Hou Yifan also at age 12 in 2007. Sivanandan aims to continue making history beyond her latest achievement. She balances her chess career with school life; she recently started secondary school and plays on a car booster seat during tournaments to reach the board, emphasizing her remarkable adaptability.
Written for “Youngest Woman Grandmaster Chess Achi…” on 2026-10-05,
grounded in this article and the 2 other(s) covering the same event.
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A British schoolgirl has become the youngest woman grandmaster in chess at just 11 years old.
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Bodhana Sivanandan secured the title at the 46th Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, after she won eight points across 11 games against some of the world's best players.
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The International Chess Federation confirmed the young Londoner’s new status after she earned her third and final ‘norm’ – an official certificate that showed a player performing at an elite level – which would qualify her for the title.
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The remarkable achievement received personal felicitations from the former Chancellor Rachel Reeves, who wrote on X: 'Huge congratulations Bodhana - a chess superstar and just 11 years old.
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So pleased to see you continue to progress.'
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The youngest woman grandmaster title was previously held by Kateryna Lagno – who has played for both Ukraine and Russia – aged 12 in 2002 and Hou Yifan from China, also 12, in 2007.
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Ms Hou went on to be the youngest woman to earn the full grandmaster title at 14 in 2008.
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Ms Sivanandan, described as a ‘generational talent’, must progress to international master before she can attempt the title of grandmaster, although some experts already predict she will become Britain's greatest ever player.
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The child prodigy discovered the game during the pandemic when she found a chessboard in a bag of discarded items left by a family friend in her home in Harrow, north London.
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Her IT-worker father, Sivandan Velayutham, taught her the basic rules but she soon began beating him when she expanded her skills through YouTube tutorials.
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Bodhana Sivanandan has become the youngest woman grandmaster in chess at just 11 years old and some experts predict she will become Britain's greatest ever player
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Alongside her passion for chess, Ms Sivanandan plays both the violin and the piano, which must be balanced with her academic work.
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Earlier this summer, Ms Sivanandan became Britain's youngest-ever Women's Chess Champion, breaking a record set by Elaine Pritchard in 1939 – who won the championship when she was just 13.
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In a tense, rapid-chess playoff between the top female players, Bodhana defeated Ireland's 14-year-old Trisha Kanyamarala, a hugely promising talent herself and the first Irishwoman to hold the Woman Grandmaster title.
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Grandmaster Danny Gormally, commentating on the event for the English Chess Federation, said in the closing moments of the match: 'Unreal!
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Bodhana, or Godhana as I call her has won.
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The new chess queen lost only to fellow child genius Shreyas Royal, 17, who went on to win the overall British championship.
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He topped the table after nine rounds, finishing half a point ahead of two of England's more seasoned grandmasters, Luke McShane and nine-time champ Michael Adams.
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The 17-year-old from south-east London became Britain's youngest-ever grandmaster in 2024.
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Ms Sivanandan first entered a tournament at the Harrow Chess Club in July 2021, but success came in 2022 when she entered the European Schools Championship in May 2022 aged seven.
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There, she won all of her 24 matches and won three golds.
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From then, she started competing against players with decades more experience and became the youngest person to avoid defeat against a grandmaster in a competitive game at the European Rapid and Blitz chess tournaments in Croatia.
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