Bodhana Sivanandan, 11, Eyes Third IM Norm After Holding Grandmaster
England's youngest Woman Grandmaster has bounced back from an opening-round defeat to score 2.5 points from her next three games at the European Club Cup in Montenegro.
Eleven-year-old chess prodigy FM Bodhana Sivanandan is making life difficult for some of the world's strongest women players.
The English youngster has followed an impressive victory over IM Olga Badelka with a draw against Georgian GM Nino Batsiashvili at the European Club Cup in Budva, Montenegro.
It means Sivanandan, who became the youngest-ever player to fulfil the requirements for the Woman Grandmaster title at last month's Chess Olympiad, has recovered from an opening-round defeat to former Women's World Championship challenger GM Aleksandra Goryachkina to score 2.5 points from her next three games.
And with Batsiashvili rated 2459—77 points above Sivanandan—the latest result is another indication of the 11-year-old's remarkable progress.
Batsiashvili's Blunder
24...Bd7 was a big mistake, allowing Sivanandan to pounce.
Sivanandan had the better of a draw against her higher-rated opponent. 24...Bd7 left Batsiashvili behind on material, but Sivanandan could not force a win. She moved to 2.5/4.
Another IM Norm?
The European Club Cup comes just weeks after Sivanandan's extraordinary performance at the Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, where she represented England on board one and completed the requirements for the Woman Grandmaster title.
She also secured her second IM norm at the event, leaving her one norm short of the three normally required for the International Master title.
The 11-year-old's next major target is therefore clear.
To achieve an IM norm, a player generally needs a tournament performance rating of at least 2450, alongside requirements concerning the strength, titles and nationalities of opponents.
Sivanandan's results in Budva have given her a promising start, although whether the seven-round competition can produce a qualifying norm, and precisely what she would need from her remaining games, requires confirmation.
Her current opponents have included two grandmasters and an international master, with an average published rating of approximately 2398.
There is also an interesting historical echo.
At last year's European Club Cup, Sivanandan defeated former Women's World Champion GM Mariya Muzychuk, another extraordinary result in a career already full of them.
Twelve months later, she is back among the elite, and the prospect of another major milestone is firmly in view.
The European Club Cup continues in Budva until October 23.
It also raises the intriguing possibility that she could achieve her third International Master norm, having already secured two this year.
Sivanandan, whose published October rating is 2382, is playing on the top board for She Plays To Win Lionesses A, an English women's team competing against some of Europe's strongest clubs.
Her campaign began with a difficult assignment against Goryachkina, rated 2536, who defeated her after a marathon 77-move encounter.
But Sivanandan responded with victory over India's Sri Darshini T before producing an impressive result with the black pieces against Badelka, rated 2408, in round three.
The win helped the Lionesses hold Gambit ASEE to a 2-2 draw.
Then came Batsiashvili, a vastly experienced Georgian grandmaster and former European Women's Champion, who was representing SuperChess Romania.
