Iranian Chess Emigre Alireza Firouzja Shows Support For National Uprising

He arrived in France as one of the most prodigious talents in chess having been forced to flee Iran because of political reasons.

Iran's loss was France's gain and GM Alireza Firouzja immediately became his adopted country's number-one. He has now risen to world number-seven.

But in the years since, Firouzja has barely spoken in public about the political situation in the country he came from, instead choosing to concentrate on chess.

Now Firouzja, the youngest player ever to break through the 2800 FIDE rating barrier, has made his position clear: he supports change.

At a time when the world looks on as a nationwide protest movement calling for the fall of the regime sweeps Iran, the 22-year-old wrote “Long live Iran” on X, accompanied by a picture of the pre-Islamic Revolution era flag.

The intention was clear and his message spread quickly online.

Firouzja was born in the city of Babol in Iran's Mazandaran province. He has now made his home in France, the country he now represents.

His chess talent is undoubted. Yet while Firouzja was in fine form for most of 2025, he narrowly missed out on his primary aim of qualifying for the 2026 FIDE Candidates.

The eight-player line-up for the all-important 2026 Candidates, which decides who challenges reigning World Champion GM Gukesh D, is now complete, with India’s GM Praggnanandhaa R and the U.S. star GM Hikaru Nakamura securing the final two spots.

Firouzja has said he's disappointed the chance has been lost to make history as the first Iranian-born world champion—but could something even more meaningful happen for him in 2026?