Alireza Firouzja is shaping up to be one of the nearly men of grandmaster chess. The Iran-born Frenchman, 23, has just won the St Louis-organised Croatia Super Rapid and Blitz in Zagreb. He was far ahead at the start of the last day, but had a poor run of 2/7 during the final rounds before a successful Armageddon tie-break.
Firouzja’s career has been limited by his below-par performances in the Candidates. In 2022, he spoiled his chances by playing blitz into the small hours; in 2024, he did worse still, finishing seventh out of eight. He made a major effort to qualify again in 2025, hiring the late Daniel Naroditsky as his coach for the Grand Swiss in Samarkand, but finished third when only two qualified. At the victory ceremony, the bronze medal podium was conspicuously uninhabited.
