Alireza Firouzja commented on the Sofia Cup 2026 in an interview on the ChessFam YouTube channel. Firouzja says that he is tired from the number of games in one day, and notes that he likes living in Bulgaria.

Alireza Firouzja

Alireza Firouzja

France's No. 1

“I’m doing good, but tired. I never played nine Rapid games in one day in my life.

[Question: You are now living in Bulgaria, how is that?] It’s great!

[Question: This is your first edition of the Sofia Cup, how do you feel?] I think it was managed good. It’s just too many rounds in the same day. But other than that, everything was perfect.”

Iranian-born GM Alireza Firouzja played under the Iranian flag from 2003 to 2019. Firouzja moved to France with his family in 2019. Alireza played under the FIDE flag from 2020 to 2021. 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.

The Sofia Cup 2026 took place from August 29 to 30 in the capital of Bulgaria. The event featured a Rapid and Blitz championships. Alireza Firouzja won the Blitz championship with a score of 9.5/11. He finished second in the Rapid championship with 7.5/9 points. Firouzja earned €6,500 for the event.

Credit: Lennart Ootes