11-year-old Bodhana Sivanandan becomes youngest girl to score an international master result at Dole Trophy

England’s 11-year-old Bodhana Sivanandan secured a first international master result at the Dole Trophy in Aix-en-Provence, France, last Saturday. The Harrow schoolgirl eclipsed Judit Polgar as the youngest girl ever to score an international master result.

Judit Polgar, the all-time No 1 woman, achieved her first IM norm in April 1988 in the International B section of the New York Open at 11 years and nine months. Sivanandan’s performance at the Dole Trophy broke that longstanding benchmark, surpassing Polgar’s age by almost five months. The achievement was recorded at the event in Aix-en-Provence and adds to Sivanandan’s string of age-group milestones.

Sivanandan finished the Dole Trophy with what has been described as a historic first international master result, a performance that marks a significant step in her competitive progression. The result is being treated as a formal international master-level performance rather than simply an isolated success. The setting in Aix-en-Provence drew attention as she closed the event on this high note.

Her route to the mark was noted as particularly demanding, and observers pointed to the comparative difficulty of the path she took to better Polgar’s record. While Polgar set her IM benchmark at the New York Open in April 1988 at 11 years and nine months, Sivanandan beat that age by almost five months through her results in France. The contrast with Polgar’s route has been highlighted in coverage of the result.

England’s 11-year-old talent now heads back with a newly established world age record to her name. The Dole Trophy performance adds another notable entry to the young player’s list of achievements.

The result represents another world age record for Sivanandan and will be recorded alongside Judit Polgar’s earlier benchmark in the historical record books.