11-year-old Bodhana Sivanandan shatters 38-year-old world age record
Bodhana Sivanandan, 11, has set a new world age record by becoming the youngest girl to defeat a grandmaster rated above 2600 and subsequently drew with a former 2700. The Harrow schoolgirl beat France’s Marc’Andria Maurizzi, rated 2628 and 19 years old, in the opening round of the Dole Trophy in Aix-en-Provence.
England’s 11-year-old talent recorded what has been described as her best individual result after her victory over Maurizzi. She had previously defeated two grandmasters, although neither carried the same profile as the French champion. Maurizzi is the world under-20 junior champion of 2023 and is the current French champion. The win establishes a new world age record for a girl to beat a grandmaster rated over 2600, eclipsing a mark that stood for 38 years.
Maurizzi maintained the upper hand through the first 27 moves, but the game turned when a tactical error allowed Sivanandan to win his queen for inadequate compensation. The sequence left the Frenchman unable to recover the material deficit, and Sivanandan converted the advantage to secure the full point. Observers noted the contrast between Maurizzi’s early control and the decisive tactical collapse that followed.
Sivanandan’s progress to this victory builds on earlier successes against titled players, though those two prior grandmaster scalps were against less celebrated opponents than Maurizzi. The result on that opening day of the Dole Trophy has been singled out by her team as the high point of her tournament so far. At 11, she becomes the youngest female to accomplish a win against a 2600-plus rated grandmaster, a milestone noted across the chess community.
Maurizzi’s credentials underline the significance of the upset: he is 19, rated 2628, was world under-20 junior champion in 2023 and holds the French national title. His loss came despite holding a tangible advantage well into the middlegame, and the decisive moment arose from a miscalculation that cost him the queen. The combination of his standing and the way the game unfolded has drawn attention to Sivanandan’s tactical alertness.
The match took place during the opening round at the Dole Trophy in Aix-en-Provence, where Sivanandan’s result immediately placed her among the storylines of the event. Tournament coverage highlighted both the historic nature of the victory and the quality of opposition she overcame to achieve it. The pairing also prompted discussion about age and achievement in elite junior chess.
Sivanandan’s victory over Maurizzi will stand as a landmark in her young career and as a record in girls’ chess history. The result has been recorded as a new world age record for a girl defeating a grandmaster rated over 2600, and it marks the most notable individual success she has achieved to date.