Firouzja, AlirezaAge 21


Source: Lennart Ootes/NorwayChess

Title
Grandmaster
Live Rating
2766.0
Live Rank
#8
FIDE Rating
2766
World Rank
#8
France Rank
#1
FIDE Peak Rating
2804 - Dec 2021 (Age 18)
FIDE Peak Rank
#2 (2804) - Dec 2021 (Age 18)
Rapid
2753 World #5, Peak 2756 (Nov 2024)
Blitz
2798 World #4, Peak 2904 (Nov 2022)
Born
18 Jun 2003
Babol, Iran
FIDE ID 12573981
Wikipedia

Active Years:
2012 - 2025
Total Games:
1468
Wins:
665 (45%)
Losses:
317 (22%)
Draws:
486 (33%)
Total score:
62%
Performance :
Performance for the last active 12 months:
2778
White:
C54 Italian Game (45 games)
B90 Sicilian Defense (24 games)
C65 Ruy Lopez (21 games)
Black:
B90 Sicilian Defense (32 games)
B51 Sicilian Defense (24 games)
C67 Ruy Lopez (18 games)

It's hard to argue that in the 21st century after Carlsen, there has been a more worthy contender for world chess supremacy than Alireza Firouzja. Like Magnus, he emerged from a country without a strong chess tradition and lacked a formal chess education, yet his combinational skills made up for any deficiencies in his game. By the age of 16 he was already competing on equal footing with the world's top players, and by 18 he had risen to second place in the rankings. However, as it turned out, he wasn't prepared for the grueling demands of the Candidates Tournament and so far, he hasn't reached a World Championship match. Nevertheless, few doubt that the most exciting chapters in Alireza Firouzja's career are yet to come – after all, the Iranian-French genius is only 21 years old!

Firouzja was born on June 18, 2003 in Babol. His older brother taught him to play chess at the age of 8 and just a year later his father, noticing Alireza's rapid progress, hired a coach for him. Within another year he was defeating all his peers in Iran and by 12, he had become the Asian Youth Champion. Realizing that there was nothing left for him in junior chess, he began competing exclusively with adults and in 2016, after winning the national qualifying tournament he sensationally won the Iranian Championship (8/11)! By that time, he already had several victories over grandmasters in head-to-head matches. Another year passed, and he earned the grandmaster title himself.

At 12 years and 7 months Firouzja was invited to join the Iranian national team for the Asian Games (scoring 5.5/7), where he drew with Wei Yi, the youngest player to achieve a 2700 rating. That same year, he represented Iran on the fourth board at the Chess Olympiad. He began to gain serious attention in 2017 when he delivered several impressive performances and showcased brilliant attacking games. But 2018 was his true breakout year. Alireza gained over 100 rating points and made a huge splash at the World Rapid and Blitz Championships! The 15-year-old grandmaster finished sixth in rapid (10/15) and started with 6.5/7 in blitz. Carlsen had to personally defeat him to knock him off the podium.

Firouzja continued his ascent in 2019, gaining another 100+ rating points in a single year, rising from 2618 to 2723 (the second-best result in history; he broke 2700 at 16 years, 1 month and 16 days). Through the Asian Championship, he qualified for the World Championship cycle for the first time, competing in the World Cup, where he was only eliminated in the 3rd round by eventual winner Ding Liren. In the World Rapid & Blitz he finished second only to Carlsen, becoming the first Iranian to reach the podium (10.5/15). Unfortunately, this was his last appearance under the Iranian flag: after a conflict in Germany, where he was barred from playing against an Israeli player under Iranian law, Alireza changed his nationality to France and moved to the outskirts of Paris.

In 2020 the former Iranian prodigy caught Carlsen's eye. He defeated the champion in an exhibition match in the Banter Blitz Cup (8.5-7.5), which earned him an invitation to a series of online tournaments and the Stavanger tournament, where he nearly surpassed Carlsen, finishing second (6.5/10). In 2021 Alireza repeated that result but again let Magnus slip ahead, making a costly blunder in their game. This race for the tournament victory propelled Firouzja into the top 10 for the first time. But after winning the Grand Swiss (8/11), which qualified him for the Candidates Tournament, and delivering a phenomenal performance on the top board for the French team at the European Championship (8/9 with a perf. of 3000+), his rating soared to 2804 (at 18 years, 5 months, and 13 days – a record still unbroken). After this the world champion remarked: "If someone other than Firouzja wins the 2022 Candidates Tournament, it's unlikely I'll play the next World Championship match!"

The weight of such expectations proved too heavy: Firouzja struggled (6/14) and chess history took a new course. Nepomniachtchi won the tournament, Carlsen, as promised, declined to defend his title and Ding Liren, who surprisingly replaced him, became the new World Champion... Meanwhile, Alireza seemed to lose interest in chess. He announced that he wanted to become a fashion designer and significantly reduced his participation in live tournaments (although he continued to play online chess frequently and with great success). However, this didn't stop him from winning the Grand Chess Tour in 2022 (and repeating the success in 2024) with consecutive victories in St. Louis in rapid/blitz (26/36 and 20/36) and classical (5/8 and 6/8). He also earned a second spot in the Candidates Tournament, where he again played a secondary role, not seriously contending for victory (5/14).

The story of this genius is far from over by his young age... It seems he is beginning to understand his place in chess history and is taking a more measured approach to the pursuit of the crown. After all, there is no such thing as a "Candidates Tournament curse."

2700chess.com


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Games

#White PlayerRatingBlack PlayerRatingResultMovesSiteDate 
1
Nogerbek, Kazybek
2531
Firouzja, Alireza
27530-158London12 Jun 2025board
2
Firouzja, Alireza
2753
Aronian, Levon
27461-042London12 Jun 2025board
3
Erigaisi, Arjun Kumar
2708
Firouzja, Alireza
27531/2-1/267London12 Jun 2025board
4
Firouzja, Alireza
2753
Jones, Gawain C B
26351-061London12 Jun 2025board
5
Sevian, Sam
2636
Firouzja, Alireza
27531-078London11 Jun 2025board
6
Firouzja, Alireza
2753
Nihal, Sarin
26761-077London11 Jun 2025board
7
Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar
2701
Firouzja, Alireza
27530-129London11 Jun 2025board
8
Firouzja, Alireza
2753
Turner, Matthew J
25061-039London11 Jun 2025board
9
Deac, Bogdan Daniel
2668
Firouzja, Alireza
27570-154Bucharest16 May 2025board
10
Vachier Lagrave, Maxime
2723
Firouzja, Alireza
27571/2-1/234Bucharest16 May 2025board
11
Firouzja, Alireza
2757
Praggnanandhaa, Rameshbabu
27581/2-1/236Bucharest16 May 2025board
12
Firouzja, Alireza
2757
Abdusattorov, Nodirbek
27711/2-1/263Bucharest15 May 2025board
13
Praggnanandhaa, Rameshbabu
2758
Firouzja, Alireza
27571/2-1/240Bucharest14 May 2025board
14
Firouzja, Alireza
2757
Gukesh, Dommaraju
27871-069Bucharest13 May 2025board
15
Aronian, Levon
2747
Firouzja, Alireza
27571/2-1/258Bucharest11 May 2025board
16
Firouzja, Alireza
2757
So, Wesley
27511/2-1/241Bucharest10 May 2025board
17
Firouzja, Alireza
2757
Caruana, Fabiano
27760-173Bucharest9 May 2025board
18
Duda, Jan Krzysztof
2739
Firouzja, Alireza
27571/2-1/255Bucharest8 May 2025board
19
Firouzja, Alireza
2757
Vachier Lagrave, Maxime
27231-051Bucharest7 May 2025board
20
Firouzja, Alireza
2757
Fedoseev, Vladimir1
27390-137Warsaw30 Apr 2025board
21
Vachier Lagrave, Maxime
2722
Firouzja, Alireza
27571/2-1/281Warsaw30 Apr 2025board
22
Aravindh, Chithambaram VR
2749
Firouzja, Alireza
27570-140Warsaw30 Apr 2025board
23
Firouzja, Alireza
2757
Aronian, Levon
27471-039Warsaw30 Apr 2025board
24
Deac, Bogdan Daniel
2668
Firouzja, Alireza
27571-024Warsaw30 Apr 2025board
25
Firouzja, Alireza
2757
Gavrilescu, David
25540-136Warsaw30 Apr 2025board
26
Praggnanandhaa, Rameshbabu
2758
Firouzja, Alireza
27571-041Warsaw30 Apr 2025board
27
Firouzja, Alireza
2757
Topalov, Veselin
27171-052Warsaw30 Apr 2025board
28
Duda, Jan Krzysztof
2739
Firouzja, Alireza
27570-142Warsaw30 Apr 2025board
29
Fedoseev, Vladimir1
2739
Firouzja, Alireza
27571/2-1/273Warsaw29 Apr 2025board
30
Firouzja, Alireza
2757
Vachier Lagrave, Maxime
27220-145Warsaw29 Apr 2025board
31
Firouzja, Alireza
2757
Aravindh, Chithambaram VR
27491-029Warsaw29 Apr 2025board
32
Aronian, Levon
2747
Firouzja, Alireza
27571-043Warsaw29 Apr 2025board
33
Firouzja, Alireza
2757
Deac, Bogdan Daniel
26681/2-1/267Warsaw29 Apr 2025board
34
Gavrilescu, David
2554
Firouzja, Alireza
27570-140Warsaw29 Apr 2025board
35
Firouzja, Alireza
2757
Praggnanandhaa, Rameshbabu
27580-131Warsaw29 Apr 2025board
36
Topalov, Veselin
2717
Firouzja, Alireza
27571-055Warsaw29 Apr 2025board
37
Firouzja, Alireza
2757
Duda, Jan Krzysztof
27390-137Warsaw29 Apr 2025board
38
Aravindh, Chithambaram VR
2749
Firouzja, Alireza
27571-087Warsaw28 Apr 2025board
39
Firouzja, Alireza
2757
Topalov, Veselin
27171-020Warsaw28 Apr 2025board
40
Vachier Lagrave, Maxime
2722
Firouzja, Alireza
27571/2-1/253Warsaw28 Apr 2025board
41
Firouzja, Alireza
2757
Aronian, Levon
27471/2-1/261Warsaw27 Apr 2025board
42
Duda, Jan Krzysztof
2739
Firouzja, Alireza
27571/2-1/281Warsaw27 Apr 2025board
43
Firouzja, Alireza
2757
Praggnanandhaa, Rameshbabu
27581-058Warsaw27 Apr 2025board
44
Gavrilescu, David
2554
Firouzja, Alireza
27571/2-1/272Warsaw26 Apr 2025board
45
Firouzja, Alireza
2757
Deac, Bogdan Daniel
26681-040Warsaw26 Apr 2025board
46
Fedoseev, Vladimir1
2739
Firouzja, Alireza
27571/2-1/279Warsaw26 Apr 2025board
47
Ragger, Markus
2601
Firouzja, Alireza
27671/2-1/221Germany2 Feb 2025board
48
Firouzja, Alireza
2767
Nepomniachtchi, Ian
27551/2-1/230Germany1 Feb 2025board
49
Firouzja, Alireza
2767
Livaic, Leon
25501/2-1/225Germany12 Jan 2025board
50
Abdusattorov, Nodirbek
2766
Firouzja, Alireza
27671/2-1/241Germany11 Jan 2025board