The short version
- Bodhana Sivanandan became the youngest female International Master in history at age eleven, breaking a record held by Judit Polgar for thirty-eight years.
- Her achievement places her among the ten youngest players ever to reach a rating of 2400, alongside emerging talents like Roman Shogdzhiev and Nodirbek Abdusattorov.
- The victory occurred during the European Club Cup in Montenegro, where Sivanandan’s team secured a decisive win while she navigated high-pressure games against top-tier opponents.
An eleven-year-old chess prodigy from England has rewritten the history books by becoming the youngest female player to earn the International Master title. Bodhana Sivanandan achieved this milestone on Friday during the European Club Cup in Budva, Montenegro, surpassing a benchmark set by Hungarian legend Judit Polgar thirty-eight years ago. The accomplishment marks a significant shift in the landscape of competitive chess, highlighting an accelerating trend of younger players reaching elite status at unprecedented rates.
Sivanandan’s path to the title required precise performance under intense pressure. She needed only a few rating points to cross the 2400 threshold necessary for the open International Master title. Her campaign began with a resilient display against former world title challenger Aleksandra Goryachkina in the first round, where she held her ground to secure a draw. This result preserved her momentum heading into subsequent rounds, demonstrating tactical maturity beyond her years.
The critical breakthrough came in the third round, where Sivanandan outmaneuvered an International Master opponent to push her live rating to 2399.4, just shy of the required 2400. In a subsequent game against Grandmaster Nino Batsiashvili, who holds a rating of 2426, she converted a winning position into a draw. These performances underscored her ability to compete with established grandmasters, narrowing the gap between potential and official recognition.
The final hurdle was cleared in a match against Sweden’s Viktoria Johansson. Sivanandan secured victory in thirty-two moves, contributing to a comprehensive 4-0 win for her team, She Plays to Win. This result officially granted her the International Master title and cemented her place as the youngest female IM in history. The achievement also places her within an exclusive cohort of the ten youngest players ever to reach a 2400 rating.
Sivanandan is not alone in this new generation of precocious talent. She shares her birth year, 2015, with Russian star Roman Shogdzhiev, who is widely viewed as a successor to Soviet chess legends such as Mikhail Botvinnik and Garry Kasparov. Shogdjhiev has been systematically prepared by a coaching team led by Grandmaster Evgeny Tomashevsky, participating in specialized blitz tournaments in Moscow to refine his speed and precision against strong competition.
Shogdzhiev’s trajectory mirrors the rapid ascent seen in other young players like Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Faustino Oro, and Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus. He recently secured two of the three required Grandmaster norms at the Asian Championship in Ulaanbaatar and the Serbian League. With one final norm and a 2500 rating needed, he is poised to challenge Abhimanyu Mishra’s record as the youngest ever Grandmaster before his twelfth birthday in February 2027.
While youth records dominate headlines, the European Club Cup also featured notable performances from veteran competitors. Richard Pert, a forty-five-year-old national coach and brother of Grandmaster Nicholas Pert, delivered a career-best result by defeating Jorden van Foreest. Van Foreest, ranked twenty-fourth in the world, made a critical error in move twenty-four, allowing Pert to win a piece and resign immediately. Pert’s strong form contributed to his team Cheddleton Savills Catering’s surprising success.
Cheddleton Savills Catering emerged as a dark horse in the tournament, winning five of their first six matches despite being seeded sixteenth. Their strong showing contrasts with other English teams that suffered heavy defeats in the opening rounds. The team faces Israeli champions Rishon LeZion in the final round, led by former world title challenger Boris Gelfand, offering a slim chance for a medal finish.
In parallel developments across the Atlantic, the US Championship concluded with a dramatic playoff. Wesley So defeated defending champion Fabiano Caruana in rapid and blitz tiebreakers after both players finished the classical portion tied at seven points out of eleven. So’s victory highlights the competitive depth in American chess, while sixteen-year-old Rachael Li claimed the women’s title, becoming the youngest first-time champion in the event’s history.
These concurrent achievements underscore a global surge in high-level chess performance among younger demographics. As institutions and coaches invest more heavily in early development, records once thought immutable are being challenged with increasing frequency. The coming months will likely see further shifts as players like Sivanandan and Shogdzhiev continue to ascend the ranks, redefining expectations for age-related milestones in the sport.
Sources behind this briefing
Go to the original reporting
- The Guardian US↗Chess: Bodhana Sivanandan, 11, breaks Judit Polgar’s longstanding world age record
