Alireza Firouzja

Biography

Alireza Firouzja was born on 18 June 2003 in Babol, Iran, and took up chess at age eight. He won the Iranian Chess Championship in 2016 at age 12, scoring 8/11 to become the youngest ever winner, and was awarded the International Master title the same year. He completed his final grandmaster norm at the Aeroflot Open in February 2018 and received the GM title in April 2018, at 14 years old. He first played for Iran at the Chess Olympiad in Baku that year—on board four, scoring 8/11 (+6−1=4) at the following Olympiad in Batumi.

On 27 December 2019, Firouzja announced he would no longer play under the Iranian federation, after Iran withdrew its players from the 2019 World Rapid and Blitz Championship to uphold its longstanding refusal to let its players face Israeli opponents. He competed under the FIDE flag through 2020 while based in Chartres, France, obtained French nationality in July 2021, and has represented France ever since—though as of the 2026 Olympiad team announcements he had yet to play an Olympiad for his new federation.

Firouzja's rating climbed quickly after the switch: he crossed 2700 in July 2019 at age 16 during a Turkish Super League stint in Tatvan, then reached 2804 in December 2021, becoming, at 18 years and 166 days, the youngest player in history to surpass 2800—beating Magnus Carlsen's previous record by several months—and rising to world No. 2. He won the 2021 FIDE Grand Swiss to qualify for the 2022 Candidates Tournament, where he placed 6th (6/14), and returned to the 2024 Candidates in Toronto, finishing 7th while being the only player to beat eventual winner Gukesh Dommaraju. He was Grand Chess Tour overall champion in both 2022 and 2024. As of September 2026 he is rated 2757 and ranked world No. 10, having recently won the Chennai Grand Masters (4½/7, July 2026) and scored his first classical win over Magnus Carlsen at the 2026 Norway Chess tournament.

Key achievements

• Youngest player in history to surpass a FIDE rating of 2800 (December 2021, age 18)
• Peak FIDE rating of 2804, reaching world No. 2 (December 2021)
• Winner of the FIDE Grand Swiss Tournament (2021)
• Two-time Grand Chess Tour overall champion (2022, 2024)
• Two-time Candidates Tournament competitor (2022: 6th; 2024: 7th, only player to defeat champion Gukesh Dommaraju)

Ratings

Titles

Classical Tournaments

Team Events

Source: Wikipedia Olympiad record. Firouzja has represented France since 2021 but, per France's 2026 Olympiad team announcements, has not yet played a Chess Olympiad for his adopted federation.

Read more on Wikipedia or view his FIDE profile.