Journalist and former FIDE Executive David Llada shared how he met Alireza Firouzja in the Bulgarian capital, Sofia. Llada and Firouzja met at the 2026 Sofia Cup: Balkan Rapid & Blitz Championships.

David Llada

David Llada

Journalist, former FIDE Executive

“It is always great to see Alireza playing over the board! He is one of the leaders of the Balkan Rapid Championship being played right now in Sofia, together with Mamedov and Alexakis.

I had no idea that Alireza lives in Sofia now!”

Iranian-born GM Alireza Firouzja played under the Iranian flag from 2003 to 2019. Firouzja moved to France with his family in 2019. From 2020 to 2021, Alireza played under the FIDE flag. He has represented the French Chess Federation since July 2021. Alireza has not made any public statements about a potential transfer to the Bulgarian Federation.

The French Chess Federation (FFE) made a statement about Alireza in May. Firouzja will not participate in the 2026 Chess Olympiad and will not be invited to future events until the specific requirement is fulfilled. The FFE noted that Alireza did not respond favorably to the French national team’s invitation and did not provide any official reasons.

Credit: Lennart Ootes