Convosco, Dorsa Derakhshani, uma personagem imortal, criada por Roberto Bolaño

Barcelona? How did you get there?

Well, I gotan interesting offer to play for a local club called Montcada. That’s why Imoved there in summer this year right after I finished school. I’m happy I’vegot this possibility and it’s been quite exciting so far. There are manytournaments around and also I’m much closer to leagues. For example, my team won Switzerland Bundesliga last year and I scored 3/3 in my games, but it was really unpleasant to travel for about 10 hours before each game! Being in Barcelona gives me better chances to improve my chess.

And what about the hosting of women top events such as a Fide Grand Prix in 2016 or even the World Championships planned in Tehran in 2017?

Ok, let me give you the overall picture: You may know we had a revolution in Iran in 1979. As a result, chess was forbidden for more than a decade since it was regarded as a sort of gambling. In this period, chess was still secretly played in backyards but obviously there was no systematic approach for training or tournaments. This explains why chess culture generally still lacks behind in Iran compared to other countries.

Now certainthings seem to change due to the new president of the Iranian Chess Federation Mehrdad Pahlevanzadeh who is also engaged in the Asian Chess Federation. He is responsible for the hosting activities going on right now. However, although I obviously welcome every event taking place in Iran I hope they won’t forget their players and improve the financial support for better conditions.