Sara Khadem, the chess star who fled Iran: "They can't stop everyone"

Sara Khadem (Tehran, 1997) is a young woman of her time, happy and smiling, but also strong and rebellious with a cause.. After a protest, they withdrew his passport and he thought that his career “was over”, despite having won the under 12 and under 16 chess world championships. The fame of Sarasadat Khademalsharieh, her full name, skyrocketed last December, when she refused to play the Rapid Chess World Cup in Kazakhstan with a veil. The Iranian government did not take long to order his arrest.

That risky move forced her to leave Iran along with her one-year-old son and her husband, the film director Ardeshir Ahmadi, who already knew what prisons in his country are like inside.. “He had a much worse time,” says Sara, who does not rule out that her life inspires a movie, although she does not dare to venture who the leading actress could be.

Sara Khadem knows several Spanish cities and has settled in a secret place in Andalusia. The first tournament of its new life has been the VI Festival Salamanca Cuna del Ajedrez Moderno, a demanding competition with a unique format, since four women and four men participate, among them three world champions, the Bulgarian Veselin Topalov and the Ukrainians Anna Ushenina and Vasily Ivanchuk.

“Everyone is very good here. My expectation was just to try to get back in shape, because it's my first tournament in a while.. I try to enjoy and I'm happy with this very original format, although maybe not with my results”, says Khadem at the same table where he just made a draw.

He is ranked 14th in the world ranking, at 26 years old.. Do you aspire to be world champion? Before Covid I was doing very well and I was planning to travel all over the world to play. Then the pandemic hit, my son was born and I couldn't play for a few months.. Now I’m trying to regain my motivation. Being a professional chess player requires a lot of dedication, but yes, my goal is to reach the top.She doesn’t consider herself an activist, but she is aware of her public relevance and the opportunity that entails. As an athlete, I have a certain responsibility. Activists dedicate their whole life to a cause. I spend most of my time playing chess and with my son. I know there are other people who do a lot more, but I worry about what happens.I have heard you say several times that you are a lazy person. I find that unbelievable, with those accomplishments. Well, it’s true. I know I should practice chess every day and I don’t get it. It’s a balance. I don’t work as much as I should, so I consider myself a bit lazy. Why do such good players suddenly emerge in Iran? The first one was Alireza Firouzja (current world number 4, aged 19). He never got the support he deserved. I remember when I was very young I kept posting pictures of him to complain to the authorities. He has a great talent and they should have cared more about him. Nobody listened to me and he went to France. They lost someone very valuable. When they tried to get him back, of course, it was too late. He also had problems because in Iran they don’t let you compete against Israeli players. did it cause you problems to support Alireza? yes and no. actually, it caused me more problems. Actually, it caused me more problems to protest against the Iranian missile that shot down a Ukrainian plane in 2020, which killed 176 people. Then I received a warning call from the secret services.. It’s usual to call people you know, but for me it was the first time. I discovered the responsibility I had. To what extent did you think about the repercussions of not wearing the veil? I don’t know if you know Elnaz Rekabi, a climber who competed without the veil and then was able to return to Iran, although she was not allowed to come to Spain to train before the Games. I thought she might not be able to come back immediately, but after some time, but she didn’t. No, because later they said it wasn’t just about the veil. It became more political. Are you optimistic about the future of your country? That’s a difficult question. We have made a lot of progress, but I don’t know if we will see big changes. I am optimistic if we talk about getting some rights. Every day we see more and more girls without veils on the street and I don’t think the government can control it, because it’s increasing. They can’t stop everyone.Her husband was also in jail.. For him it was much worse and he was younger. He was living in Canada and was detained by the intelligence services after returning to Iran. We have a law there that you can be temporarily detained. The secret services first detain you and then look for evidence to prove they were right. If they don’t find any, they may release you, but it’s not certain either. There are many people who have been in jail for two or three years and they have nothing on them. In my husband’s case, his parents didn’t know for ten days where he was, and it was jail. Alireza Firouzja chose France and the referee Shohreh Bayat, a similar case to yours, lives in the UK. Why did you choose Spain? I always loved Spain. I used to come here to play tournaments. We also had the option of going to Canada, because my husband was from there. He and my son have Canadian passports, but it is too far away. I play chess and Europe is better. Spain is a great country, good for chess, and we love the people. Are you worried about your safety in Salamanca these days? It is no secret that he is here playing. I don’t want to think about that, because then I wouldn’t be able to leave the house. I don’t think it’s a problem. In Spain we feel very safe.You once said that the Iranian government can persecute you in other countries. It’s true that they have done it before, but I don’t think they can in a country like Spain. It is easier in Turkey and other neighboring countries, with which they have very good relations.. Khosro Harandi (1950-2019), the first international master Iran ever had, was his first coach.Did you ever talk about the years of the chess ban that was imposed after the 1979 Islamic revolution.Yes.In fact, he was very good before the revolution and I think his talent was wasted because of the travel ban, because he was among the best players in Asia.He couldn’t reach his goals, but later he helped a lot to coach the national team.Can you imagine living without chess?It seems impossible to me. He couldn’t achieve his goals, but afterwards he helped a lot to train the national team.Can you imagine living without chessI think it’s impossible. I have played all my lifeI am a young and modern girl. I think her parents already were, but I don’t know if that’s a common thing in Iran. My parents are young and open-minded. That’s fortunate. My father studied and lived in Germany for about a decade. That changed his way of thinking. And my mother is very young. She is as old as I am with my son. We are very close to each other. I don’t consider her of an older generation. On her Instagram profile she defines herself this way: “Wife. Mother. Professional chess player.” Is the order important-no, not really. To be honest, my husband supports me in almost everything and I thought it would be fair to put him first.Would you prefer Sam to be a grandmaster or a film director?I wouldn’t want him to be a chess player. I think it would be too much pressure for him. Anyway, let it be what he wants

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