11-year-old Bodhana Sivanandan breaks 38-year-old chess record with victory over French grandmaster
Sivanandan, aged 11 years and four months, defeated 19-year-old French Grandmaster Marc'Andria Maurizzi, who is rated 2628, in the opening round of the Dole Trophy in Aix-en-Provence
Eleven-year-old British chess player Bodhana Sivanandan has become the youngest girl to defeat a grandmaster rated above 2600, breaking a 38-year-old record previously held by Hungarian great Judit Polgar.
Sivanandan, aged 11 years and four months, defeated 19-year-old French Grandmaster Marc'Andria Maurizzi, who is rated 2628, in the opening round of the Dole Trophy in Aix-en-Provence, says the Guardian.
The victory surpassed the previous record set by Polgar in 1988, when she was 12 years and two months old after defeating Grandmaster Lajos Portisch.
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Sivanandan secured the win after employing a tactical sequence that won her opponent's queen for insufficient compensation, finishing the game 11 moves later.
The result also places her among the five youngest pre-teens to defeat a grandmaster rated above 2600, alongside players including Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu.
She continued her strong tournament with draws against Grandmaster Maxim Rodshtein, whose peak rating was 2710, and Grandmaster Paul Velten. After seven rounds, Sivanandan had scored 3.5 points and remained in contention to secure her second Women's Grandmaster norm.
The achievement comes as reigning world champion Gukesh Dommaraju has endured a difficult run of form in 2026. After winning the world title in 2024, Gukesh has recorded a series of disappointing results in major tournaments.
Most recently, he finished last at the Quantbox Chennai Grandmasters tournament in his home city without winning a game, dropping to 31st in the live world rankings.
Meanwhile, attention is also turning to the upcoming International Chess Federation (FIDE) presidential election ahead of the 2026 Chess Olympiad in Samarkand.
Incumbent president Arkady Dvorkovich has suspended his functions after being sanctioned by the European Union, with former world champion Viswanathan Anand serving as interim president.
The presidential race also includes German businessmen Jan Henric Buettner and Wadim Rosenstein. Former FIDE president Kirsan Ilyumzhinov has also entered the contest, campaigning on a pledge to bring Magnus Carlsen back to competing for the classical world championship.
