An 11-year-old British chess player, Bodhana Sivanandan, has become the youngest woman grandmaster in history following her performance at the 46th Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
Sivanandan, who represents England and is from northwest London, secured the title after competing at the tournament, which ended on Sunday.
The achievement adds to a series of records set by the young player, who has rapidly risen through the ranks of international chess.
In an interview released by the International Chess Federation, FIDE, Sivanandan said she was determined to continue breaking records rather than stop at her latest achievement.
“I’m happy to do it, but I want to keep going and keep making history as well, instead of just stopping here,” she said. The woman grandmaster title is the highest female-only title awarded in chess.
Sivanandan also said she did not feel significant pressure while playing on the top board for England at the Olympiad, adding that she focused on enjoying the competition. “Not really, I just tried to enjoy it,” she said.
The tournament was Sivanandan’s second Chess Olympiad. She said the experience was similar to her previous appearance, although she competed on a different board. “It kind of felt very similar to the last one except I was playing on a different board,” she said.
Also Read: Ecobank prepares for National Schools’ Team Chess Championship
She said her interest in chess extended beyond competition, noting that she enjoyed the opportunity to travel and that the game had benefits for her education. “It links to loads of school subjects so it’s really useful there as well,” she said.
Her latest achievement follows a series of milestones in her young career. In August 2025, she became the youngest female player to defeat a grandmaster after beating 60-year-old Pete Wells at the age of 10 years, five months and three days.
According to FIDE, the victory broke the previous record held by American chess player Carissa Yip, who defeated a grandmaster at the age of 10 years, 11 months and 20 days in 2019.
Sivanandan had previously become Britain’s youngest female chess champion and the youngest person to represent England at an international tournament in any sport.
Her interest in chess began during the COVID-19 pandemic when she was five. In an interview with the BBC in 2024, her father said no one in the family had previously excelled at chess.
Sivanandan said she discovered the game after one of her father’s friends gave the family a collection of toys and books.
“In one of the bags, I saw a chessboard, and I was interested in the pieces. I wanted to use the pieces as toys. Instead, my dad said that I could play the game, and then I started from there,” she told the BBC.
CNN
