Bodhana breaks Judit Polgar’s record, becomes IM at 11

Bodhana Sivanandan has broken Judit Polgar’s longstanding record to become the youngest female International Master in chess history. The England prodigy, whose family hails from Tamil Nadu, secured her third and final IM norm at the European Club Cup in Budva, Montenegro, on Friday. At 11 years, seven months and 16 days, she also became the seventh-youngest International Master across both men’s and women’s chess.

Key moments

Polgar won her IM title in 1988 at the age of 12, a mark that stood for nearly four decades. Bodhana earned her first IM norm at the Dole Open in France in July, where she defeated French Grandmaster Marc’Andria Maurizzi, rated 2628. Her second IM norm came at the Chess Olympiad in September. The achievement follows her success at the 2026 Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, where she represented England on the top board and scored eight points from 11 rounds to become the youngest-ever Woman Grandmaster.

Bodhana was five when she found a chess set among belongings given to her father by a family friend returning to India during the pandemic. She has said she liked how the pieces looked and became competitive after learning the basics. Earlier this year she also became the youngest winner of the British Women’s Chess Championship.

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Sources

• Hindustan Times

• Sportstar

• Photo: This photo was taken by Przemysław JahrAutorem zdjęcia jest Przemysław…, CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)