Dorsa Derakhshani ( fa, درسا درخشانی; born 1998) is an

Iranian-American Iranian Americans are United States citizens or nationals who are of Iranian ancestry or who hold Iranian citizenship. Iranian Americans are among the most highly educated people in the United States. They have historically excelled in busine ...

chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to disti ...

player. She was awarded the titles

Woman Grandmaster FIDE titles are awarded by the international chess governing body FIDE (''Fédération Internationale des Échecs'') for outstanding performance. The highest such title is Grandmaster (GM). Titles generally require a combination of Elo rating and ...

and

International Master FIDE titles are awarded by the international chess governing body FIDE (''Fédération Internationale des Échecs'') for outstanding performance. The highest such title is Grandmaster (GM). Titles generally require a combination of Elo rating and ...

in 2016.

Chess career

Dorsa Derakhshani won three gold medals at the Asian Youth Chess Championships, in 2012 (in the Girls U14 division), 2013 and 2014 (in the Girls U16). She played for the Iranian National team in the women's division of the Asian Nations Cup in 2012 and 2014. Derakhshani also qualified for the title of

FIDE The International Chess Federation or World Chess Federation, commonly referred to by its French acronym FIDE ( Fédération Internationale des Échecs), is an international organization based in Switzerland that connects the various national c ...

Trainer in 2016Dorsa Derakhshani's FIDE card
/ref> and is an accredited FIDE journalist. Derakhshani was a speaker at TedxTalk in Munich, Germany in July 2019. She advised the audience to "Take their freedom of choice seriously" at the TEDxYouth@München.

Conflict with Iranian Chess Federation

In February 2017, the Iranian Chess Federation banned Derakhshani from playing for the Iran national team or playing in any tournaments in Iran on the grounds of "national interests", after she played in the 2017

Gibraltar Chess Festival The Gibraltar International Chess Festival is a chess tournament held annually at the Caleta Hotel in Gibraltar. Its eleven days of competition usually run from late January to early February. The inaugural edition, then known as the ''Gibtelecom ...

(when she was already a temporary resident of Spain) without wearing a

hijab In modern usage, hijab ( ar, حجاب, translit=ḥijāb, ) generally refers to headcoverings worn by Muslim women. Many Muslims believe it is obligatory for every female Muslim who has reached the age of puberty to wear a head covering. While ...

. Her 15-year-old brother Borna, who is a

FIDE Master FIDE titles are awarded by the international chess governing body FIDE (''Fédération Internationale des Échecs'') for outstanding performance. The highest such title is Grandmaster (GM). Titles generally require a combination of Elo rating an ...

, was also banned for playing

Israeli Israeli may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the State of Israel * Israelis, citizens or permanent residents of the State of Israel * Modern Hebrew, a language * ''Israeli'' (newspaper), published from 2006 to 2008 * Guni Israeli ...

grandmaster Alexander Huzman in the first round of the same tournament. Derakhshani had previously played in several tournaments without a hijab. Derakhshani gave only one interview in response to the media attention, to

Chess.com Chess.com is an internet chess server, news website and social networking website. The site has a freemium model in which some features are available for free, and others are available for accounts with subscriptions. Live online chess can be pla ...

. She also wrote a piece for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' at the end of 2017.

Career in the United States

Following the ban, Derakhshani accepted a place at

Saint Louis University Saint Louis University (SLU) is a private Jesuit research university with campuses in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, and Madrid, Spain. Founded in 1818 by Louis William Valentine DuBourg, it is the oldest university west of the Mississip ...

to study Biology on a pre-med track, winning a scholarship to play on the Saint Louis University Chess Team and taking up the role of SLU Woman Team Captain (2019-2022). Because of this, Derakhshani began to play for the

United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

in 2017. Saint Louis chess team won silver in 2017 Pan American intercollegiate chess championship. She played in the 2018 US Women's Chess Championship and finished last. In 2019, she accompanied her team to achieve bronze in the World Prestigious University Chess Invitational in Tianjin, China and she individually, achieved the first runner-up on board three in the tournament. She finished third in the 2020 US Women's Championship.U.S Chess Champs 2020 - official site
/ref> Derakhshani's peak rating was in 2405 in July 2016Dorsa Derakhshani's FIDE card
/ref>

Education

Derakhshani graduated Magna Cum Laude from St. Louis University in 2022. She is currently an admitted medical student at University of Missouri School of Medicine (Mizzou)

References

External links

*
Dorsa Derakhshani
chess games at 365Chess.com *

team chess record at Olimpbase.org
Brief interview by Powerplay Chess (youtube)Beyond Chess - interview by Markus Lammers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Derakhshani, Dorsa 1998 births Living people Chess International Masters Chess woman grandmasters Iranian female chess players Sportspeople from Tehran Iranian emigrants to the United States Saint Louis University alumni