“I love Paris and I am very happy in France!”: An interview with Iranian and French WGM Mitra Hejazipour

WGM Mitra Hejazipor was born on 19 February 1993 in Mashdad, Iran, and became Iranian Women’s Champion in 2012. But she left her country because she did not want to wear the hijab, or headscarf, and went to France, where she became a French citizen in 2023. She also became the French women’s champion that year. She recently played in the Werder Bremen Jubilee Tournament, which ended last week. After the tournament Mitra Hejazipor found time for an interview with Vera Jürgens and talked about her career, how chess helped her to see the world and whether she would like to become a professional chess player. | Photos: Werder Bremen