Bodhana Sivanandan, 11, becomes youngest female International Master after European Women's Club Cup win

England's Bodhana Sivanandan became an International Master at the age of 11 in London on October 24, 2026, following a final-round win at the European Women's Chess Club Cup 2026 that broke a 38-year-old record set by Judit Polgar.

The British Indian player, who hails from Harrow in north London, needed only a few rating points to qualify for the open IM title and to eclipse Polgar's longstanding mark. The achievement places her among the youngest players to reach the IM rank.

The European Chess Union announced the result on X, writing: "Congratulations to 11-year-old Bodhana Sivanandan on becoming an International Master with a final-round win at the European Women's Chess Club Cup 2026!" It added: "Bodhana delivered a fantastic performance, scoring 5.5/7 on Board 1 for She Plays to Win Lionesses, making her the youngest female player in history to earn the IM title."

At the event Sivanandan nearly drew her opening-round game against Russian Grandmaster Aleksandra Goryachkina, then defeated Belarusian International Master Olga Badelka in the third round to raise her rating to 2399.4. She followed that with a draw against Georgian Grandmaster Nino Batsiashvili.

Her 32-move victory over Sweden's Woman International Master Viktoria Johansson in the final rounds secured the result that clinched the IM title for her and the historic record.

The published report lists other players among the 10 youngest International Masters of all time, naming India's R. Praggnanandhaa and D. Gukesh, Uzbekistan's Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Argentina's Faustino Oro, Turkey's Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus and Russia's Roman Shogdzhiev.

Photographs accompanying the report show Sivanandan posing with her Guinness World Records' certificates, according to PTI.