Firouzja, Alireza Age 21

Source: Lennart Ootes/NorwayChess

Title

Grandmaster

Live Rating

2767.0

Live Rank

#7

FIDE Rating

2767

World Rank

#7

France Rank

#1

FIDE Peak Rating

2804 - Dec 2021 (Age 18)

FIDE Peak Rank

#2 (2804) - Dec 2021 (Age 18)

Rapid

2742 World #11, Peak 2745 (Oct 2022)

Blitz

2871 World #2, Peak 2904 (Nov 2022)

Born

18 Jun 2003
Babol, Iran

FIDE ID 12573981

Wikipedia

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."

Every chart point has info (FIDE Rating, Date, Rank, Age). Click on the chart to compare the player with any other top player.

Games

#	White Player	Rating	Black Player	Rating	Result	Moves	Site	Date
1	Vachier Lagrave, Maxime	2755	Firouzja, Alireza	2742	0-1	42	London	7 Oct 2024
2	Firouzja, Alireza	2742	Vachier Lagrave, Maxime	2755	1-0	79	London	6 Oct 2024
3	Firouzja, Alireza	2742	Anand, Viswanathan	2749	1-0	47	London	5 Oct 2024
4	Nakamura, Hikaru	2744	Firouzja, Alireza	2742	0-1	55	London	5 Oct 2024
5	Carlsen, Magnus	2834	Firouzja, Alireza	2742	0-1	81	London	4 Oct 2024
6	Firouzja, Alireza	2742	Giri, Anish	2662	1/2-1/2	56	London	3 Oct 2024
7	Carlsen, Magnus	2832	Firouzja, Alireza	2767	1-0	17	Paris	8 Sep 2024
8	Firouzja, Alireza	2767	Carlsen, Magnus	2832	0-1	37	Paris	8 Sep 2024
9	Carlsen, Magnus	2832	Firouzja, Alireza	2767	1-0	41	Paris	8 Sep 2024
10	Firouzja, Alireza	2767	Carlsen, Magnus	2832	0-1	42	Paris	8 Sep 2024
11	Carlsen, Magnus	2832	Firouzja, Alireza	2767	1-0	34	Paris	8 Sep 2024
12	Firouzja, Alireza	2767	Carlsen, Magnus	2832	0-1	27	Paris	8 Sep 2024
13	Carlsen, Magnus	2832	Firouzja, Alireza	2767	1-0	48	Paris	8 Sep 2024
14	Firouzja, Alireza	2767	Carlsen, Magnus	2832	0-1	36	Paris	8 Sep 2024
15	Carlsen, Magnus	2832	Firouzja, Alireza	2767	0-1	76	Paris	8 Sep 2024
16	Firouzja, Alireza	2767	Carlsen, Magnus	2832	1-0	45	Paris	8 Sep 2024
17	Carlsen, Magnus	2832	Firouzja, Alireza	2767	1/2-1/2	58	Paris	8 Sep 2024
18	Firouzja, Alireza	2767	Carlsen, Magnus	2832	0-1	32	Paris	8 Sep 2024
19	Carlsen, Magnus	2832	Firouzja, Alireza	2767	1-0	40	Paris	8 Sep 2024
20	Carlsen, Magnus	2832	Firouzja, Alireza	2767	1-0	43	Paris	8 Sep 2024
21	Firouzja, Alireza	2767	Carlsen, Magnus	2832	1-0	27	Paris	8 Sep 2024
22	Carlsen, Magnus	2832	Firouzja, Alireza	2767	1/2-1/2	24	Paris	8 Sep 2024
23	Firouzja, Alireza	2767	Carlsen, Magnus	2832	0-1	28	Paris	8 Sep 2024
24	Carlsen, Magnus	2832	Firouzja, Alireza	2767	1-0	53	Paris	8 Sep 2024
25	Firouzja, Alireza	2767	Carlsen, Magnus	2832	0-1	60	Paris	8 Sep 2024
26	Carlsen, Magnus	2832	Firouzja, Alireza	2767	1-0	24	Paris	8 Sep 2024
27	Firouzja, Alireza	2767	Carlsen, Magnus	2832	1/2-1/2	122	Paris	8 Sep 2024
28	Carlsen, Magnus	2832	Firouzja, Alireza	2767	1/2-1/2	39	Paris	8 Sep 2024
29	Firouzja, Alireza	2767	Carlsen, Magnus	2832	0-1	24	Paris	8 Sep 2024
30	Carlsen, Magnus	2832	Firouzja, Alireza	2767	1-0	30	Paris	8 Sep 2024
31	Firouzja, Alireza	2767	Carlsen, Magnus	2832	0-1	35	Paris	8 Sep 2024
32	Carlsen, Magnus	2832	Firouzja, Alireza	2767	1-0	44	Paris	8 Sep 2024
33	Firouzja, Alireza	2767	Carlsen, Magnus	2832	1-0	42	Paris	8 Sep 2024
34	Carlsen, Magnus	2832	Firouzja, Alireza	2767	0-1	59	Paris	8 Sep 2024
35	Firouzja, Alireza	2767	Carlsen, Magnus	2832	0-1	61	Paris	8 Sep 2024
36	Carlsen, Magnus	2832	Firouzja, Alireza	2767	1/2-1/2	61	Paris	8 Sep 2024
37	Firouzja, Alireza	2751	Praggnanandhaa R	2749	1/2-1/2	47	Saint Louis	28 Aug 2024
38	Nepomniachtchi, Ian	2767	Firouzja, Alireza	2751	1/2-1/2	80	Saint Louis	27 Aug 2024
39	Firouzja, Alireza	2751	Ding, Liren	2745	1-0	43	Saint Louis	26 Aug 2024
40	So, Wesley	2751	Firouzja, Alireza	2751	1/2-1/2	32	Saint Louis	25 Aug 2024
41	Firouzja, Alireza	2751	Giri, Anish	2746	1-0	58	Saint Louis	23 Aug 2024
42	Gukesh D	2766	Firouzja, Alireza	2751	1/2-1/2	73	Saint Louis	22 Aug 2024
43	Firouzja, Alireza	2751	Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime	2721	1/2-1/2	40	Saint Louis	21 Aug 2024
44	Abdusattorov, Nodirbek	2762	Firouzja, Alireza	2751	1/2-1/2	46	Saint Louis	20 Aug 2024
45	Caruana, Fabiano	2793	Firouzja, Alireza	2751	0-1	85	Saint Louis	19 Aug 2024
46	Vachier Lagrave, Maxime	2721	Firouzja, Alireza	2751	0-1	69	Saint Louis	16 Aug 2024
47	Firouzja, Alireza	2751	Caruana, Fabiano	2793	0-1	23	Saint Louis	16 Aug 2024
48	Nepomniachtchi, Ian	2767	Firouzja, Alireza	2751	0-1	48	Saint Louis	16 Aug 2024
49	Firouzja, Alireza	2751	Abdusattorov, Nodirbek	2762	0-1	61	Saint Louis	16 Aug 2024
50	Nakamura, Hikaru	2802	Firouzja, Alireza	2751	1/2-1/2	46	Saint Louis	16 Aug 2024