With a smile, François Gilles, the president of C'Chartres Échecs, invites the filmmakers to draw inspiration from the fabulous story of Alireza Firouzja.
There are, in the adventures of the 18-year-old chess player who hastily left Iran to take refuge in France - of which he has just obtained the nationality -, all the ingredients to make a sensational fiction, comparable to "The Lady's Game", Netflix's globally successful series.
Chaining victories and places of honor in major tournaments, already crowned with the title of international grandmaster in 2018, Alireza Firouzja continues her meteoric rise by participating in the World Championships, which are currently taking place in Sochi (Russia), until August 3.
"His life is exclusively devoted to chess, nothing but chess", testifies François Gilles.
“This is what caused his departure from Iran, which would have prevented him from having a career.
There, he was forbidden - for geopolitical reasons - to play against American or Israeli opponents ”.
With his wife, the manager of the Chartres club helped him settle in France and learn the language.
In the footsteps of the great Garry Kasparov
"Because, until the end, the United States or Monaco dreamed of welcoming Alireza, who is even better known in the world than in France".
But it is as the tricolor flag bearer that Alireza Firouzja approaches the competition, "with the ambition to beat the world champion Magnus Carlsen, which will open the doors of the candidates' tournament, the Grail of chess".
Twelfth in the world, the vice-world champion in fast games has just dislodged Maxime Vachier-Lagrave from the position of best French player.
The beginning of an epic in the footsteps of the great Garry Kasparov, who closely follows the evolution of the prodigy.
