Some chess records feel like they will never be broken. Judit Polgar, the female chess player of all time set a record back in 1988 that stood for almost forty years. Nobody came close to beating it until Saturday. That is when an eleven-year-old girl from Harrow, England walked into a tournament hall in Aix-en-Provence, France and broke Judit Polgars record.
Her name is Bodhana Sivanandan. This is a reminder that age is just a number that people use to make excuses for not doing big things.
What actually happened is that Bodhana Sivanandan played against some good chess players.
At the Dole Trophy Bodhana Sivanandan sat down across from Marc’Andria Maurizzi. He is a nineteen-year French grandmaster who is very good at chess. On paper Marc’Andria Maurizzi was supposed to win. He was better for twenty seven moves. Then he made a mistake fell into a trap and lost his queen. Bodhana Sivanandan won the game.
This win was a deal because Bodhana Sivanandan became the youngest girl to beat a grandmaster rated above 2600. She beat Judit Polgars record from 1988. Judit Polgar was twelve years and two months old when she set the record. Bodhana Sivanandan was eleven years and four months old when she broke it.
The position that broke the record
Here is the moment itself move 27 onward with White, Bodhana to play:
Bodhana Sivanandan vs Marc’Andria Maurizzi – Dole Open 2026
White found 1. B4!! a sharp pawn push that traps Blacks knight on c5 with nowhere to run. Blacks natural try, taking the knight on c3 walks into a queen recapture with mating threats looming on g7 and h8. Maurizzi tried to fight on by grabbing the pawn with his queen. After 2. Nd5 his queen was forced back and material started bleeding away. Eleven moves later it was over.
What makes it satisfying is not just that Bodhana, an 11-year-old found the shot. It is that Bodhana found it against someone rated 600+ points above Bodhana in a position most adults would have quietly resigned themselves to a grind.
Bodhana’s Achievements
This is not a one-off. Bodhana already holds many records such as England’s first world youth champion in 25 years a triple-crown sweep across classical, rapid and blitz in the Under-8 category an FM title secured after a 200+ rating point surge in a single month and a world-age-record WGM norm at just 10 years old. Bodhana is now closing in on Bodhanas WGM norm of three needed for the full title.
What about the money?
Here is the honest answer: at this level junior chess is not really a payday. Bodhanas biggest wins far have mostly earned Bodhana trophies, titles and prizes at events like the European Blitz Championships in Zagreb and Monaco. Recognition that matters far more for a career than any cash purse at 8, 9 or 11 years old. The real payoff comes later once norms convert into titles and titles open the door to sponsored invitations and appearance fees. Now Bodhana is stacking the kind of credentials that make that future possible.
The actual takeaway
Nobody handed Bodhana a shortcut. Bodhana just kept sitting down across the board from people who were supposed to beat Bodhana and refusing to play like Bodhana believed that. That is really the lesson. Rating, age and reputation are just numbers other people use to decide what is possible. Bodhana has decided otherwise over and over.
Worth remembering time you are the least experienced person, in the room. Keep following The New England Chess School for more inspiring stories.