11-Year-Old Bodhana Sivanandan Breaks Records With First IM Norm and 2600+ Rating Win

English Prodigy Sets Two Historic Records in French Tournament

Eleven-year-old FM Bodhana Sivanandan has added two more major records to her already remarkable chess career following her outstanding performance at the Dole Open in France last week. The English prodigy became the youngest girl ever to earn an international master norm and the youngest girl known to defeat a grandmaster rated over 2600 in classical chess competition.

The nine-round Masters tournament, held from July 18-26, attracted nearly 300 players competing for a €30,000 prize fund. The event featured 46 grandmasters competing for the top honors. Armenian GM Robert Hovhannisyan won the tournament title and €8,000 first prize after defeating fellow Armenian GM Haik Martirosyan in a playoff, with both players finishing on 7.5 out of 9 points.

Historic Opening-Round Victory

Bodhana’s breakthrough moment came in the opening round when she delivered what she described as the biggest win of her career, defeating GM Marc’Andria Maurizzi. The 19-year-old opponent is no ordinary 2600-level challenger—he won the 2023 World Junior Championship and holds the French Championship title. Maurizzi also achieved one of 2025’s most impressive tournament performances when he won the Djerba Open with a spectacular rating performance of 2900, scoring 7.5 out of 9.

Bodhana’s victory was decisive. Although Maurizzi held an advantage through much of the game, the position shifted dramatically after move 27 when Maurizzi played Qb6, a critical blunder that forced him to surrender his queen. The young champion converted the material advantage efficiently and secured Maurizzi’s resignation on move 39.

At just 11 years, 4 months, and 11 days old, Bodhana became the youngest girl known to have defeated a grandmaster rated above 2600. While FIDE does not officially track these age-related statistics, the previous record was likely held by GM Hou Yifan, who defeated GM Nikita Vitiugov two weeks before her 13th birthday.

Elite Company in Record-Breaking Achievement

Remarkably, only five players in all of chess history have defeated a 2600+ rated opponent at a younger age than Bodhana. GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov holds the overall record, achieving the feat at just 9 years, 7 months, and 27 days. Other members of this exclusive group include prodigies Abhimanyu Mishra, Faustino Oro, Roman Shogdzhiev, and R. Praggnanandhaa.

Tournament Performance and IM Norm Achievement

Bodhana finished the nine-round Masters tournament with 5 out of 9 points and achieved a rating performance of 2463, facing four grandmasters and two international masters during the event. She secured her second WGM norm with one round remaining, but her crowning achievement came in the final round when she held IM Samrug Narayanan to a draw in a lengthy endgame, clinching her IM norm.

Throughout the tournament, she also drew against GMs Maxim Rodshtein and Paul Velten, and defeated FM Thomas Morais. Her draw in the final round secured the historic norm.

Breaking Judit Polgar’s 36-Year Record

With this achievement, Bodhana lowered one of chess’s most storied age records. Her IM norm makes her the youngest girl to achieve this milestone, surpassing a record held by legendary GM Judit Polgar, who earned her first IM norm at the New York Open in 1988. Bodhana, at 11 years, 4 months, and 19 days, has lowered that record by nearly four months.

Part of an Extraordinary Record-Breaking Streak

This tournament represents the latest milestone in an extraordinary series of achievements by the young champion. At age eight, Bodhana became England’s first World Youth Champion in 25 years, sweeping the girls’ under-eight world titles in classical, rapid, and blitz with a perfect combined score of 33 out of 33.

By age nine, she became the youngest player to score a WIM norm and the youngest to represent England at a Chess Olympiad. After achieving her WGM norm, she earned her third WIM norm at the 2025 British Championship at 10 years, 5 months, and 3 days, breaking GM Zhansaya Abdumalik’s previous record by approximately one year. She completed that title by defeating GM Peter Wells in the final round, making her the youngest girl ever to defeat a grandmaster in a classical game.

Earlier this year, shortly after turning 11, Bodhana crossed the 2300 rating threshold to earn the FM title, putting her at a higher rating than Judit Polgar was at the same age, further underlining the exceptional trajectory of her chess career.