The Most Famous
CHESS PLAYERS from Iran
This page contains a list of the greatest Iranian Chess Players. The pantheon dataset contains 461 Chess Players, 2 of which were born in Iran. This makes Iran the birth place of the 40th most number of Chess Players behind Uzbekistan, and Brazil.
Top 4
The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Iranian Chess Players of all time. This list of famous Iranian Chess Players is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.
1. Alireza Firouzja (b. 2003)
With an HPI of 37.75, Alireza Firouzja is the most famous Iranian Chess Player. His biography has been translated into 36 different languages on wikipedia.
Alireza Firouzja (Persian: علیرضا فیروزجا, pronounced [æliːɾeˈzɒː fiːɾuːzˈdʒɒː]; born 18 June 2003) is an Iranian-French chess grandmaster. Firouzja is the youngest player to have surpassed a FIDE rating of 2800, beating the previous record set by Magnus Carlsen by more than five months. A chess prodigy, Firouzja won the Iranian Chess Championship at age 12 and earned the Grandmaster title at 14. At 16, Firouzja became the second-youngest 2700-rated player. In 2021, at 18, he won the FIDE Grand Swiss tournament and an individual gold medal at the European Team Chess Championship. In 2022, Firouzja won the Grand Chess Tour. He qualified for the Candidates Tournament in 2022 and 2024. Firouzja left the Iranian Chess Federation in 2019 because of the country's longstanding policy against competing with Israeli players. Firouzja played under the FIDE flag until mid-2021, when he became a French citizen and began representing France, where he had already been living.
2. Sarasadat Khademalsharieh (b. 1997)
With an HPI of 29.12, Sarasadat Khademalsharieh is the 2nd most famous Iranian Chess Player. Her biography has been translated into 24 different languages.
Sarasadat Khadem al-Sharieh (Persian: سارا سادات خادمالشریعه; born 10 March 1997), also known as Sara Khadem (سارا خادم), is an Iranian-Spanish chess player who holds the titles of International Master (IM) and Woman Grandmaster (WGM).
3. Atousa Pourkashiyan (b. 1988)
With an HPI of 28.91, Atousa Pourkashiyan is the 3rd most famous Iranian Chess Player. Her biography has been translated into 17 different languages.
Atousa Pourkashiyan (Persian: آتوسا پورکاشیان; Persian pronunciation: [ɒːtuːˈsɒː puːɾkɒːʃiˈjɒːn]; born 16 May 1988) is an Iranian-American chess player. She holds the title of Woman Grandmaster, which FIDE awarded her in 2009.
4. Dorsa Derakhshani (b. 1998)
With an HPI of 26.29, Dorsa Derakhshani is the 4th most famous Iranian Chess Player. Her biography has been translated into 15 different languages.
Dorsa Derakhshani (Persian: درسا درخشانی; born 1998) is an Iranian-American chess player. She was awarded the titles Woman Grandmaster and International Master in 2016.
People
Pantheon has 4 people classified as Iranian chess players born between 1988 and 2003. Of these 4, 4 (100.00%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Iranian chess players include Alireza Firouzja, Sarasadat Khademalsharieh, and Atousa Pourkashiyan. As of April 2024, 2 new Iranian chess players have been added to Pantheon including Sarasadat Khademalsharieh, and Dorsa Derakhshani.
Living Iranian Chess Players
Go to all Rankings
Alireza Firouzja
2003 - Present
HPI: 37.75
Sarasadat Khademalsharieh
1997 - Present
HPI: 29.12
Atousa Pourkashiyan
1988 - Present
HPI: 28.91
Dorsa Derakhshani
1998 - Present
HPI: 26.29
