Bodhana Sivanandan, the 11-year-old British chess player, has achieved a historic milestone by becoming the youngest girl ever to defeat a grandmaster rated above 2600. Her victory over French grandmaster Marc’Andria Maurizzi, rated 2628, broke a record that had stood for 38 years and had belonged to Judit Polgar.
A Victory That Changes Youth Chess History
Bodhana Sivanandan’s performance has placed her name in a highly prominent position within international chess. At just 11 years and 4 months old, the British player defeated Marc’Andria Maurizzi, a 19-year-old French grandmaster, the 2023 world junior under-20 champion and the current French champion.
The result came in the first round of the Dole Trophy in Aix-en-Provence and immediately drew attention because of both the strength of the opponent and the age of the player who beat him. Sivanandan had previously defeated two grandmasters, but neither of them matched Maurizzi’s competitive profile or rating.
This was not merely a striking result in an isolated game. It set a new world age record for a girl defeating a grandmaster rated above 2600. Until now, that benchmark had been associated with Judit Polgar, widely regarded as the greatest female chess player of all time.
Judit Polgar’s Record Falls After 38 Years
The comparison with Judit Polgar gives Bodhana’s achievement a special dimension. Polgar had set her mark at the 1988 Hungarian Championship, when she defeated grandmaster Lajos Portisch, a former world championship candidate. At the time, the Hungarian was 12 years and 2 months old.
Sivanandan has lowered that reference point significantly. At 11 years and 4 months, she moves ahead of Polgar’s age mark and establishes a new benchmark for girls’ youth chess. The achievement is even more striking because the opponent she defeated was not simply an experienced grandmaster, but a young, active player rated above 2600.
The record also places Bodhana within a very select list of early talents. She becomes the fifth-youngest pre-teen player, male or female, to defeat a grandmaster rated above 2600, behind names such as Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Faustino Oro, Roman Shogdzhiev and Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu.
A Game Defined by a Tactical Turn
The game against Maurizzi had a particularly significant course. The French grandmaster held the advantage for the first 27 moves, which suggested a favorable game for the more experienced and higher-rated player. However, the balance changed abruptly after a tactical mistake.
Maurizzi entered a sequence that allowed Sivanandan to win the queen in exchange for insufficient compensation. From that point, the young British player had to transform her material advantage into a concrete victory, a task that requires precision and calm in high-level games.
The value of the result does not lie only in punishing an error. In tense positions, especially against a grandmaster rated above 2600, the ability to spot the tactical resource and then convert it is a clear sign of competitive maturity. Bodhana did so in a game that quickly gained international attention.
A Young Talent With Accelerated Progress
Sivanandan has long been followed as one of the most promising young players in British chess. Her recent trajectory has been marked by results with major impact for her age and by a notable ability to compete against opponents with far more experience.
The new record reinforces that perception. This was not just a single victory, but another step in a progression that already includes wins over grandmasters and notable results in demanding competitions. The combination of age, level of opposition and historical value makes this game one of the most important milestones of her career so far.
Her case also brings renewed focus to the growth of youth talent in modern chess. More and more very young players are competing earlier against elite-level opponents, supported by specific training, digital preparation and earlier competitive exposure than in previous generations.
WGM and IM Norms in the Same Tournament
Bodhana’s performance at the 2026 Dole Open did not end with her victory over Maurizzi. By the end of the tournament, the young British player had completed her second woman grandmaster norm and her first international master norm.
To achieve that, she had to get through a particularly demanding final game, lasting six hours, against a strong opponent. That finish added even greater value to a week already defined by her world age record.
The norms she earned show that her performance was not limited to one brilliant game. In tournaments of this kind, norms require players to maintain a high level over several rounds and against qualified opposition. That consistency turns her result into a broader achievement, not simply a story built around one specific victory.
Bodhana and the Impact of a Historic Mark
Sivanandan’s win has generated wide attention because of the combination of factors involved: an 11-year-old player, a 2628-rated grandmaster, a 38-year-old record and the inevitable comparison with Judit Polgar. Those elements explain the scale of the attention surrounding her result.
The mark also carries symbolic value for women’s chess. Polgar stood for decades as the absolute reference point for female performance in competitive chess, and any record connected to her name naturally carries special weight.
With this victory, Bodhana Sivanandan adds an important chapter to the history of youth chess. Her win over Maurizzi, the norms she achieved in the tournament and her international progression consolidate her place as one of the most closely followed young figures in the game.
