Harrow Girl Who Found a Chess Set in Lockdown Becomes Youngest Woman Grandmaster at 11

Bodhana Sivanandan, 11, became the youngest female grandmaster after discovering chess during lockdown and now has her sights on the open IM title (Credit: Aaaatu/Wikimedia Commons)

An 11-year-old girl from Harrow who picked up chess from YouTube videos during lockdown has become the youngest Woman Grandmaster in history.

Bodhana Sivanandan, from north-west London, secured her third and final WGM norm while playing on board one for England, scoring eight points from 11 rounds and surpassing the previous record set by Kateryna Lagno, who was 12. Her performance in Samarkand also earned her a second International Master norm.