The April 2026 FIDE rating list has confirmed a seismic shift in British chess. Bodhana Sivanandan, who celebrated her 11th birthday just last month, has officially become the highest-rated female player in England and the highest rated female 11-year-old in history!
Following a sensational run of form across Europe, Sivanandan’s rating has skyrocketed to 2366 classical FIDE rating. This milestone sees her surpass four-time British Women’s Champion Lan Yao to claim the national top spot. Furthermore, the London-based prodigy has broken into the World Top 100 Women for the first time, currently sitting at world number 72.
Better Than Polgar at 11
Perhaps the most staggering aspect of Sivanandan’s rise is how she compares to the legends of the game. At 11 years old, the greatest female player of all time, Judit Polgar, held a rating of 2355. By reaching 2366, Bodhana has officially surpassed Polgar’s historic benchmark at the same age.
This achievement makes her the highest-rated 11-year-old girl in the history of chess. In the context of all players, including boys, she is now the 8th-highest rated child ever to reach this age, joining an elite group that includes Super-GMs like Nodirbek Abdusattorov and R Praggnanandhaa, or prodigies Faustino Oro and Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus.
A Record-Breaking Campaign
Sivanandan’s ascent was fueled by a relentless schedule in early 2026. Her most significant gains came from a standout performance at the Cannes Chess Festival, where she added nearly 100 points to her rating. She followed this with strong showings in the Graz Open and the 4NCL, Britain’s premier chess league.
Her resume now includes a string of unprecedented “youngest-ever” records:
- Youngest female to defeat a GM: Toppled GM Peter Wells in 2025.
- Youngest WGM Norm: Secured at age 10, eclipsing Hou Yifan’s record.
- Youngest International Representative: Selected for the England Women’s Olympiad team in 2024.
Future Outlook
Holding the FIDE Master (FM) and Woman International Master (WIM) titles, Bodhana is now firmly on the path toward the Grandmaster title. Her current rating of 2366 places her ninth globally for girls under 20, despite being the youngest player in that elite bracket by several years.
For English chess, Sivanandan represents the spearhead of a new “golden generation” that includes the country’s youngest-ever Grandmaster, Shreyas Royal.
