The 11-year-old English chess prodigy Bodhana Sivanandan has recorded her greatest achievement yet. She has become the youngest girl ever to qualify for the international master (IM) title, which is one rung below grandmaster.
In doing so she has eclipsed the record of Judit Polgár, generally regarded as the strongest woman player of all time, who was was 12 years and 2 months old when she earned her IM title. Bodhana is 11 years and seven months old.
Chessbase quotes Bodhana's fellow IM, the English Chess Federation’s director of international chess, Malcolm Pein:
"I can only describe Bodhana as a generational talent. There is no limit to what she can achieve. It’s remarkable that she is more than matching Judit Polgár's achievements at a similar age and breaking her records, even if we live in different times. It's worth noting that Bodhana is the seventh-youngest player, boy or girl, to become an international master."
Bodhana gained the IM title playing on top board for the English women's team She Plays To Win Lionesses at the European Club Cup in Montenegro.
You can watch one of her victories there in the video above. The game is typical of her mature positional style – I was never sure where Black's queen belonged in such structures.
No comments:
Post a Comment