Teenage chess genius could become youngest World Champion

An 18-year-old chess star has secured himself a chance to become the youngest-ever World Champion.

Alireza Firouzia has just won the FIDE Grand Swiss Tournament in Latvia and is now the ninth best player in the world!

Following his Grand Swiss Tournament win, he has qualified for next year's Candidates Tournament.

The competition sees eight top chess players compete for the chance to become World Champion.

Born in Iran in 2003, Alireza began playing chess at eight years old.

He showed early signs of his ability, winning Iran's national chess championship at just 12 years old - the youngest player ever to do so.

And in April 2018, when he was 14, Alireza became a chess grandmaster - a title given to only the very best chess players in the world.

However, for a while Alireza did not receive as much recognition for his ability as Iran would not allow tournaments with many countries it was not on friendly terms with.

Because of Iran's rules about who Alireza could play with, he and his family decided to leave Iran in 2019.

Alireza now plays under France's flag, and has gone on to compete against the top players in the world.

His talent made headlines in 2020 when he beat the current World Champion, Magnus Carlsen, by one point.

Alireza may now face Magnus Carlsen next year in the Candidates Tournament 2022.