Bodhana Sivanandan, the 11-year-old Indian prodigy, just rewrote the record books again. At the Dole Open in France, she secured her first international master norm and defeated a player rated above 2600. Both feats are now age records for girls.
This is the third IM norm Bodhana needs to reach the title. Her path accelerates by the month. She already held the record as the youngest girl to achieve a GM norm at age 10. Now she's pushing deeper into elite territory, consistently beating players far above her rating.
The 2600-plus scalp is the kind of result that separates genuine prodigies from promising juniors. Beating a 2600-rated player at 11 years old is exceptionally rare. Bodhana's only real comparisons are Praggnanandhaa and Giri, both of whom followed similar trajectories before becoming super-GMs.
What makes Bodhana's rise different is the speed. She's accumulating these records without the kind of hype machine that follows other young talents. She simply shows up to tournaments and demolishes expectations.
Her next goal is obvious. Two more IM norms will arrive soon enough. After that comes the race for the GM title itself. By her current pace, that target is in realistic view before she turns 13.