Bodhana Sivanandan, an 11-year-old chess prodigy from Britain, made headlines at the Dole Trophy in Aix-en-Provence, France, by breaking a 38-year-old record previously held by legendary chess player Judit Polgar, widely regarded as the greatest female chess player in history.
Bodhana, born on March 7, 2015, in London, has quickly become one of the brightest stars in the chess world. Her parents moved to the UK from India in 2007, and Bodhana was born eight years later.
Bodhana Sivanandan’s Remarkable Performance at Dole Trophy
She started playing chess during the pandemic, and six years later, she has achieved the title of FIDE Master and is the top female chess player in Britain. After finishing 20th at the European Rapid Chess Championship, Bodhana continued to compete in international tournaments, achieving a remarkable feat last weekend.
In her first round at the Dole Trophy, she defeated Marc’Andria Maurizzi, a 19-year-old reigning French champion who won the U20 World Championship in 2023. Maurizzi boasts a FIDE rating of 2628, and with this victory, Sivanandan became the youngest player in history to beat an opponent with a FIDE rating over 2600.
The previous record was set by Judit Polgar in 1988, where she triumphed over Grandmaster Lajos Portisch at the Hungarian Championships at the age of 12 years and two months. Bodhana, at 11 years and four months, has surpassed this milestone.
Throughout chess history, only four players have accomplished this feat at a younger age than Bodhana: Nodirbek Abdusattorov (9 years), Faustino Oro (10 years), Roman Shogdzhiev (11 years and one month), and Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu (11 years and one month).
According to reports from The Guardian, Bodhana faced a setback in the second round of the Dole Trophy, losing to Benny Aizenberg. However, she later managed to secure a draw against Grandmaster Maxim Rodshtein, Israel’s number two player, who at one point had a FIDE rating exceeding 2700.
