🔻Pouya Idani, Iran’s grandmaster in chess, has officially changed his federation to France. Idani said that unfulfilled promises and unpaid bonuses from the Iranian Chess Federation played a role in this decision: “In the end, I felt I had no choice but to do this.”

🔹The World Chess Federation (FIDE) approved Idani’s federation change last week, and with a rating of 2615—based on FIDE’s September list—this grandmaster is now France’s fourth-ranked player after Alireza Firouzja, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, and Étienne Bacrot.

🔹The 30-year-old chess player has joined a group of prominent Iranian-born figures, including Alireza Firouzja and Mitra Hojazi-Pour, who compete for France.

🔹In 1401 (2022/2023), at the World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships, Idani was eliminated from the tournament after refusing to play against Boris Gelfand, an Israeli chess player.

🔹Idani said that his decision reflects the life he has built in France, but that unfulfilled promises and unpaid bonuses from the Iranian Chess Federation also played a role in this decision: “Many things happened over the past few years. In the end, I felt I had no choice but to do this.”