British chess sensation FM Bodhana Sivanandan has made history again. The 11-year-old completed the requirements for the Woman Grandmaster title at the 46th Women's Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, becoming the youngest player ever to do so. She also scored her second International Master norm, bringing her one step closer to the title.

Bodhana finished her second Chess Olympiad with a stunning 8/11, scoring six wins, four draws, and losing just once. During the event, she drew reigning European Women's Champion, 16-year-old WFM Anastasiia Hnatyshyn, as well as the former champion, GM Nana Dzagnidze from Georgia in round 10.

She had already achieved her final WGM norm after the ninth round, but following her final round victory over Philippines WGM Janelle Mae Frayna, she also scored her second IM norm. England finished 15th in the women’s section.

In her win against Mae Frayna, she punished a small mistake in the middlegame and displayed excellent technique in the queen endgame.

Bodhana finished on a rating performance of 2432, which earned her 28 rating points. That takes her upcoming October rating to 2382, and places her second among the world's highest-ranked players born in 2015 or later, only surpassed by IM Roman Shogdzhiev. 

After becoming the youngest player to ever achieve the WIM title, Bodhana now also has the record as the youngest to earn the WGM title. She has smashed a record that stood since 2006, and belonged to the current Woman World number-one, GM Hou Yifan. 

Youngest-ever WGMs

It is yet another age record for the London schoolgirl, who has rewritten record books ever since her historic triple crown as an eight-year-old in 2023. This time, she did it at one of chess' biggest stages, playing every game on England's top board. 

"I'm happy to do it, but I want to keep going and keep making history as well, instead of just stopping here," she said in an interview with FIDE on Sunday.

I'm happy to do it, but I want to keep going and keep making history as well, instead of just stopping here.
—Bodhana Sivanandan

Sivanandan was just nine when she made her Olympiad debut in Budapest in 2024, becoming the youngest player to represent England at a Chess Olympiad. She played on board four then. Two years later, England entrusted her with board one.

In an interview with Chess.com’s FM Mike Klein, she reflected on how it was to lead England's team at 11.

11-year-old Bodhana Sivanandan, Board 1 for England:

"In the 1st #ChessOlympiad I was the reserve player, and this time I’m the 1st board player, so it’s the opposite end of the table, but I’m still here to enjoy the Olympiad and playing people from all over the world!" pic.twitter.com/AA9mW8j6lZ

— chess24 ( @chess24com) September 17, 2026

Her path to the WGM title has itself produced two age records. In France last year, aged 10, she became the youngest player to score a WGM norm. Weeks later at the British Championship, she completed the requirements for the Woman International Master title at 10 years, five months, and three days—about a year younger than the previous record holder, GM Zhansaya Abdumalik.

The decisive game in that 2025 British Championship brought another first. Sivanandan defeated GM Peter Wells in the final round, becoming the youngest girl known to beat a grandmaster in a FIDE-rated classical game.

The records kept coming this year. In July, she became the youngest girl to score an IM norm at the Dole Open in France, surpassing an age mark previously held by GM Judit Polgar. She opened that tournament by defeating 2628-rated GM Marc’Andria Maurizzi, becoming the youngest girl to beat a player rated above 2600 in classical chess. The same event gave her a second WGM norm.

In August, she added the British Women’s Championship to the list, becoming its youngest-ever winner after defeating WGM Trisha Kanyamarala in a rapid playoff. Earlier in the year, she had also crossed 2300 to earn the open FM title, becoming the second-youngest female player to reach that rating, behind Polgar.

With the current progress, it's unlikely that Bodhana is going to stick with the WGM title for long. Having started the year below 2200, she is now on the verge of breaking 2400. She still needs the rating and a final norm to complete the IM title.

For Sivanandan, the experience in Samarkand wasn't only about playing chess. Asked by FIDE what she enjoys about chess, she spoke about traveling and its connection to her studies: “I like traveling and also because I do full-time school as well, it links to loads of school subjects, so it’s really useful there as well.”