Firouzja, Alireza Age 21

Source: Lennart Ootes/NorwayChess

Title

Grandmaster

Live Rating

2757.0

Live Rank

#9

FIDE Rating

2757

World Rank

#9

France Rank

#1

FIDE Peak Rating

2804 - Dec 2021 (Age 18)

FIDE Peak Rank

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

Rapid

2754 World #5, Peak 2756 (Nov 2024)

Blitz

2857 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
51	So, Wesley	2747	Firouzja, Alireza	2763	1-0	34	Oslo	17 Dec 2024
52	Firouzja, Alireza	2763	So, Wesley	2747	0-1	32	Oslo	17 Dec 2024
53	Aronian, Levon	2747	Firouzja, Alireza	2763	1/2-1/2	54	Oslo	17 Dec 2024
54	Firouzja, Alireza	2763	Aronian, Levon	2747	1-0	41	Oslo	17 Dec 2024
55	Firouzja, Alireza	2763	Vitiugov, Nikita	2668	1-0	36	London	7 Dec 2024
56	McPhillips, Joseph	2388	Firouzja, Alireza	2763	0-1	24	London	7 Dec 2024
57	Firouzja, Alireza	2763	Ju, Wenjun	2563	1-0	48	London	7 Dec 2024
58	Smirin, Ilia	2574	Firouzja, Alireza	2763	0-1	37	London	7 Dec 2024
59	Firouzja, Alireza	2763	Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi	2727	1-0	42	London	7 Dec 2024
60	Harvey, Marcus Ross	2494	Firouzja, Alireza	2763	0-1	38	London	7 Dec 2024
61	Firouzja, Alireza	2763	Rudd, Jack	2230	1-0	23	London	7 Dec 2024
62	Vachier Lagrave, Maxime	2731	Firouzja, Alireza	2763	1/2-1/2	54	London	7 Dec 2024
63	Jones, Gawain C B	2639	Firouzja, Alireza	2763	0-1	59	London	7 Dec 2024
64	Pang, Ethan	2300	Firouzja, Alireza	2763	0-1	35	London	7 Dec 2024
65	Firouzja, Alireza	2763	Vitiugov, Nikita	2668	1/2-1/2	98	London	7 Dec 2024
66	Firouzja, Alireza	2763	Stefansson, Vignir Vatnar	2537	1-0	30	London	7 Dec 2024
67	Gasanov, Eldar	2476	Firouzja, Alireza	2763	1/2-1/2	61	London	7 Dec 2024
68	Adams, Michael	2662	Firouzja, Alireza	2763	1-0	58	London	7 Dec 2024
69	Firouzja, Alireza	2767	Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime	2735	0-1	38	London	16 Oct 2024
70	Firouzja, Alireza	2767	Vachier Lagrave, Maxime	2735	1/2-1/2	32	London	16 Oct 2024
71	Vachier Lagrave, Maxime	2735	Firouzja, Alireza	2767	1/2-1/2	38	London	16 Oct 2024
72	Firouzja, Alireza	2767	Sadhwani, Raunak	2659	1/2-1/2	21	London	15 Oct 2024
73	Vaishali, Ramesh Babu	2487	Firouzja, Alireza	2767	1/2-1/2	45	London	14 Oct 2024
74	Firouzja, Alireza	2767	Vaishali, Ramesh Babu	2487	1-0	71	London	14 Oct 2024
75	Firouzja, Alireza	2767	Giri, Anish	2728	1-0	45	London	12 Oct 2024
76	Giri, Anish	2728	Firouzja, Alireza	2767	1-0	58	London	12 Oct 2024
77	Firouzja, Alireza	2767	Carlsen, Magnus	2831	0-1	75	London	11 Oct 2024
78	Giri, Anish	2728	Firouzja, Alireza	2767	1-0	111	London	10 Oct 2024
79	Anand, Viswanathan	2751	Firouzja, Alireza	2767	0-1	30	London	9 Oct 2024
80	Firouzja, Alireza	2767	Nakamura, Hikaru	2802	0-1	68	London	8 Oct 2024
81	Vachier Lagrave, Maxime	2735	Firouzja, Alireza	2767	0-1	42	London	7 Oct 2024
82	Firouzja, Alireza	2767	Vachier Lagrave, Maxime	2735	1-0	79	London	6 Oct 2024
83	Nakamura, Hikaru	2802	Firouzja, Alireza	2767	0-1	55	London	5 Oct 2024
84	Firouzja, Alireza	2767	Anand, Viswanathan	2751	1-0	47	London	5 Oct 2024
85	Carlsen, Magnus	2831	Firouzja, Alireza	2767	0-1	80	London	4 Oct 2024
86	Firouzja, Alireza	2767	Giri, Anish	2728	1/2-1/2	56	London	3 Oct 2024
87	Firouzja, Alireza	2767	Hakobyan, Aram	2617	1/2-1/2	14	Chess,com INT	17 Sep 2024
88	Nakamura, Hikaru	2802	Firouzja, Alireza	2767	0-1	38	Chess,com INT	17 Sep 2024
89	Firouzja, Alireza	2767	Xiong, Jeffery	2646	1-0	26	Chess,com INT	17 Sep 2024
90	Firouzja, Alireza	2767	Terry, Renato	2508	1-0	47	Chess,com INT	17 Sep 2024
91	Gharibyan, Mamikon	2472	Firouzja, Alireza	2767	0-1	95	Chess,com INT	17 Sep 2024
92	Firouzja, Alireza	2767	Xiao, Tong	2492	1-0	52	Chess,com INT	17 Sep 2024
93	Rustamov, Rustam	2283	Firouzja, Alireza	2767	0-1	35	Chess,com INT	17 Sep 2024
94	Firouzja, Alireza	2767	Steinberg, Nitzan	2554	1/2-1/2	75	Chess,com INT	17 Sep 2024
95	Weishaeutel, Moritz	2401	Firouzja, Alireza	2767	0-1	50	Chess,com INT	17 Sep 2024
96	Firouzja, Alireza	2767	Ahmad, Khagan	2406	1-0	52	Chess,com INT	17 Sep 2024
97	Shapiro, Viktor	2074	Firouzja, Alireza	2767	0-1	31	Chess,com INT	17 Sep 2024
98	Carlsen, Magnus	2832	Firouzja, Alireza	2767	1-0	17	Paris	8 Sep 2024
99	Firouzja, Alireza	2767	Carlsen, Magnus	2832	0-1	37	Paris	8 Sep 2024
100	Carlsen, Magnus	2832	Firouzja, Alireza	2767	1-0	41	Paris	8 Sep 2024