'India's very interested in what we do': Firouzja, youngest to beat Carlsen's record
Chess grandmaster Alireza Firouzja discusses his recovery from an ankle injury that forced him to play tournaments while lying down. He also reflects on his growing popularity and the intense interest from Indian chess fans.
Why it matters
It provides insight into the physical and mental challenges faced by elite athletes and the rising global profile of chess in India.
BENGALURU: A 22-year-old grandmaster, one of the strongest players on the planet, lying flat on a hotel bed with his leg propped up on a pillow, calculating variations against a World Championship challenger sitting upright across the board. That was Alireza Firouzja's reality for a stretch of tournaments earlier this year, a fallout from an ankle injury. It was surreal."I just stepped wrongly," Firouzja, now 23, told TimesofIndia.com, recalling the moment that caught the chess world's attention during the Super Chess Classic in Bucharest, Romania, earlier this year in May.
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