Bodhana Sivanandan: Youngest-Ever WGM at 11

by André Schulz
9/29/2026 – The eleven-year-old Bodhana Sivanandan played on top board for England at the Women's Olympiad, was the best player on her team and one of the best performers on board one. With this result, she earned her third WGM norm and is now the youngest Woman Grandmaster (WGM) in history. | Photo: Rafal Oleksiewicz / FIDE
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The English Chess Federation put its youngest player on top board for the Women's Olympiad in Samarkand: Bodhana Sivanandan, just 11 years old. This did not come as a complete surprise, as with her rating of 2354 (before the Olympiad), she was and remains England's number one female player, some way ahead of the experienced Jovanka Houska and Harriet Hunt, both of whom, however, are already somewhat past their peak.

Bodhana Sivanandan (Notice anything? Surely that can't be a coincidence. And here too: Praggnanandhaa.) repaid the faith placed in her with her performance. The 11-year-old played all eleven rounds and scored eight points on top board. After three wins, she drew against the strong Azerbaijani player Ulviyya Fataliyeva in round four and, for example, also held the world's top junior and reigning European Women's Champion Anastasiia Hnatyshyn to a draw. The experienced Nana Dzagnidze was also unable to get the better of Bodhana Sivanandan. The English player suffered just one defeat, in round eight against Peru's Deysi Cori.

Results of Bodhana Sivanandan

Sivanandan Bodhana FM 2354 ENG Rp:2432
Rk. Snr Name Elo Country Rp Pts. Res. Bd.
1 470 WFM Wilson Hannah 1835 BAR 2016 7,5 s 1 1
2 175 WFM QUICKPEN Deborah Ebimobo-ere 2174 NGR 2031 5,5 w 1 1
3 158 FM Terao Juliana Sayumi 2200 BRA 2223 7,5 s 1 1
4 13 IM Fataliyeva Ulviyya 2402 AZE 2342 5 w ½ 1
5 235 WFM Shen Zhiyuan 2146 AUS 2127 5 s 1 1
6 8 WFM Hnatyshyn Anastasiia 2463 UKR 2400 7 s ½ 1
7 180 WFM Shohradova Lala 2147 TKM 2171 4,5 w 1 1
8 76 IM Cori T. Deysi 2316 PER 2447 7,5 s 0 1
9 24 IM Narva Mai 2411 EST 2439 6,5 w ½ 1
10 7 GM Dzagnidze Nana 2478 GEO 2351 5 w ½ 1
11 130 WGM Frayna Janelle Mae 2260 PHI 2285 6 s 1 1

With her performance, Bodhana Sivanandan finished 13th in the list of the best players on board one. She was the best player on her team and led England to 15th place in the final standings, five places higher than their starting rank based on average rating.

The result also earned her a WGM norm (Woman Grandmaster). It was Bodhana's third norm, meaning she has now fulfilled the requirements for the title. She is thus the youngest WGM in chess history, succeeding Kateryna Lagno, who received the title in 2002 at the age of twelve. Hou Yifan, later Women's World Champion, also received the title at the age of 12, in 2007. FIDE introduced the WGM title in 1976.

Bodhana's interest in chess began when a visitor to her parents' home left behind a chessboard at the start of the pandemic. Her father taught her the rules, and she improved her game with the help of YouTube tutorials. In 2021, she played her first tournament at the Harrow Chess Club. In 2022, at the age of seven, Bodhana won all 24 of her games at the European Schools Chess Championship. In the summer of 2026, she became the youngest British national champion of all time.

Check out the unmissable Endgame Magic Show with Bodhana from the ChessBase studios!

Arne Kähler talks to Bodhana Sivanandan at the Chess Olympiad in Samarkand

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Topics: Bodhana Sivanandan
André Schulz started working for ChessBase in 1991 and is an editor of ChessBase News.
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