When he was 12 years old, he stayed chess Hero of Iran. When he was 14 years old, he won the title of Grandmaster. A year ago, at the age of sixteen, he was a vice-world champion in fast chess, and no better than him was the famous Magnus Carlsen. In February of this year, he joined Garry Kasparov, Bobby Fischer, and CarlsinaWho as a teenager won the most prestigious championship in Prague. Alireza Firozja is not only the greatest chess talent in the world today, but he is also a great player around him. Game Diplomatic powers.
He resigned from the Iranian national team. In the background is the conflict with Israel
Firozja resigned from representing Iran. He had no choice, otherwise, he would not be able to play in last year’s tournament, because the Iranian Chess Federation decided to withdraw chess players from the tournament. For years, the authorities in Tehran forced Iranian players to submit to matches with Israeli competitors. It also injured the illustrious 17-year-old, who gave up a game with Israeli Uriem Bronstein, after two wins at the Greenink Chess Open last year. Had he joined the game, he would have been punished severely at home.
France is fighting the United States
Fayrouzja today competes as a stateless person. In chess competitions, only the flag of the World Chess Federation (FIDE) appears next to its name. So Iran has lost a great talent that experts say could be the new Magnus Carlsen. The brilliant teenager moved with his father to Paris. The French Chess Federation is hoping Firozga will be their new representative. The United States has similar hopes. The young player received special training from Kasparov in St. Louis, Missouri. If he decides on the United States, then the dream of American billionaire Rex Sinkofield for another world champion after Bobby Fisher can come true. Sinquefield is the greatest overseas chess enthusiast, supports the national federation, and players. His money has been won by Italian Fabiano Caruana and Filipino Wesley Sue in the past. They both represent the United States today. Firozga might be next.
Iran may be suspended
Iran is also at risk of being suspended by the World Chess Federation due to its policy of ignoring Israel. On December 6, at the Federation’s General Assembly, activists supported the proposal of the president of the federation, Arkady Dvorkovich, in which he warned the Iranians. – Banning the Iranian Chess Federation from competing with players from any of the Federation countries or boycotting the Iranian player at the request or instigation of the Iranian authorities will lead to the suspension of the Federation as of January 1, 2021 – We read in a statement published on the chess.com portal.
As in other sports, Iranian chess players do not play against Israeli competitors. Since the Islamic Revolution in Iran in 1979, Iran has refused to recognize Israel. Refusal to play with an opponent for political reasons usually means exclusion from the tournament, and since Israel has a lot of players in chess tournaments, this could impede the career of Iranian chess players. This is also the reason Firozja gave up playing for the motherland.
There have been examples of Iranian chess players being punished for competing with Israeli opponents. One such case was Purna Derakhshani, who played a match with Alexander Hozman at the Gibraltar Chess Festival 2017. The Iranian Chess Federation banned Derakhshani from representing the country and from participating in future chess events in Iran. Burney’s sister Dorsa had the same consequences. The second Iranian chess player was punished for not wearing a headscarf during duels on Gebliartar. After that story, she left for the United States.
Political pressure on chess players
Iranian media praise their players for their duels. Chess players are valued by politicians and called champions. How sensitive this is in Iran is best illustrated by the story of Parham Maqsudlui and Amin Tabatabai, who last December competed with Israeli chess players without knowing their nationalities at the Sunway Sitges Chess Festival. It was a tournament where the players remained anonymous to each other. I caused them big problems. Even before returning to Iran, both players had to apologize. FIDE reported that Parham had to criticize the Israeli government to protect himself.
Another Iranian, Aryan Gholami, refused to play with an Israeli in a tournament in Sweden, and in an interview with the local portal schack.se, he made it clear that he feared “serious consequences” after playing such a match. A month later, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei met with my brother and praised my deed by kissing his forehead.
Iran denies this
The Iranian Chess Federation defends itself that every time a player introduces a duel, his decision is personal. “Please note that there is no law in Iran that prohibits competing with a player from any other country, and this is a personal belief that players do not participate in certain matches,” the statement said.
Actually there is no official ban, because Although in May in the Iranian parliament, deputies wanted to pass a related law Making it impossible to compete with the Israeli players, the project was eventually pulled from the agenda. Needless, because the political pressure that prevailed in Iran for decades is sufficient.
“Iran is one of the most influential countries in the global game of chess, and I don’t think we will be stopped,” added Farhad Nikokhisal, president of the Iranian Chess Federation. We have our own rules and cultural conditions that we must act upon.
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