Magnus Carlsen remains untouchable, but it seems that his rival for the next decade already has a name and face, although not nationality. Alireza Firouzja, the golden boy of the chess nextgen , is now a genius without a homeland, having broken ties with Iran, a country of which he was national champion with only 12 years.
The reasons are very similar to those that prompted Judoca Saeid Mollaei to take refuge in Germany last summer: Iran prevents its athletes from confronting Israeli rivals, forcing them not to appear or forcing them to withdraw from the competition. This exposes them to sanctions, and even the Iranian Judo Federation was completely suspended by the IJF. With this precedent, and to avoid risking a similar sanction, the Iranian Chess Federation decided not to enroll any player in the recent Rapid and Lightning World Chess Championships, in anticipation of a possible crossing with any of the six Israelis they took part in the test.
This was the straw that broke the glass for Alireza, who had already been forced in April 2019 - with only 15 years - not to appear in a Grenke Open game against the Israeli Or Bronstein, putting up with his chances of winning the event and qualify for the elite tournament.
Knowing that his federation did not intend to enroll him in the Rapid World Championship, held in Moscow, the Iranian decided to immediately renounce his nationality and asked the International Federation to register for free in the test, which played symbolically under the banner of this institution. The result: a silver medal in the lightning mode, after having played an exciting side by side with Carlsen, which he completely overflowed in his particular duel - although the Asian eventually lost after running out of time.
A hole in the top-20
The definitive consecration for Alireza has arrived this week, where he has become a leader during several rounds of the Wijk ann Zee tournament, the Dutch town that, after the disappearance of Linares, is fairly regarded as the Wimbledon of chess. Although Carlsen again demonstrated that he still rules in the generational duel, and prevailed in the game that faced them, the adolescent prodigy accumulates four victories against elite players and is provisionally placed in the world top-20.
Iran, where chess is very popular, was called to be one of the revelation countries at the next Olympiad, which will be held this summer in Moscow. With a team of young stars in both the female and mixed categories, the dream of stripping with Russia, China or the United States to enter the medals had gained strength. But these aspirations have gone to waste, since Alireza's resignation has not been the only one: just a few days after him, the female Grand Master Mitra Hejazipour also announced that he was leaving the country, in his case for refusing to cover his hair with the mandatory veil.
117 unbeaten games
Also the veil, and an incident caused by a photo that called deception, caused last week that the international referee Shohreh Bayat began the procedures to apply for asylum in Europe. Shohreh, who runs the Women's World Championship during these days, had become the General Secretary of the Iranian Federation, a country where "I would not be guaranteed my security in case I wanted to return," he says. Under these conditions, it is not surprising that the Iranian national championship, which is held during these days, is disputed with the absence of 18 of its 20 best players.
Although Alireza's progress begins to create an incipient rivalry, today there is no one to question Carlsen. The Norwegian closed 2019 as the best year of his career, with 10 victories in super-tournaments, and obtaining for the third time in his career the so-called Triple Crown. That is: at the same time holding the titles of world champion in classical chess, but also in the fast and lightning modalities. Such is its superiority, which has not proved defeat for more than a year and a half, and chains 117 unbeaten games.
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