Youngest chess player to achieve the Woman Grandmaster (WGM) title

The youngest player to achieve the Woman Grandmaster (WGM) title is Bodhana Sivanandan (UK, b. 7 March 2015), who was aged 11 years 203 days when she drew against Georgian Grandmaster Nana Dzagnidze in Round 10 of the 46th Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, on 26 September 2026.

Bodhana started playing chess in 2020, and by 10 August 2025, she had broken two GWR titles. Aged 10 years 156 days, she became the youngest chess Woman International Master and the youngest female player to defeat a grandmaster in a chess tournament. She beat 60-year-old Pete Wells in the 2025 British Chess Championships final in Liverpool, Merseyside, UK.

To earn WGM status from the International Chess Federation (FIDE), a player must complete three grandmaster norms (a certified title-level performance) and have a classical rating above 2,300.