Bodhana Sivanandan breaks 38-year record in chess history

11-year-old British chess player Bodhana Sivanandan has fulfilled the necessary requirements to become the youngest female International Master. She broke the record held by Judit Polgar since 1988, «The Guardian» reports.

On October 23, in the final round of the European Club Cup held in Budva, Montenegro, Bodhana defeated Sweden's Victoria Johansson. Scoring 5.5 points out of seven possible, she completed the third and final norm required for the International Master title. Furthermore, the chess player's rating exceeded the required 2400 point threshold.

Bodhana achieved this result at the age of 11 years, 7 months, and 16 days. Prior to this, the record belonged to legendary Hungarian chess player Judit Polgar, who fulfilled the International Master requirements at the age of 12 in 1988.

Bodhana took seventh place in the overall list of the youngest chess players to fulfill the International Master requirements. Uzbekistan's Javohir Sindarov achieved this result in 2017 at the age of 11 years, 6 months, and 16 days, ranking sixth on the list.