‘Hard To Sleep’: Exiled Chess Champion Mitra Hejazipour on Iran Protests, Her Memoir and Hope

Mitra Hejazipour, a 32-year-old Iranian chess champion now living in Paris, says she has been unable to contact her family for ten days because of widespread internet and phone blackouts amid nationwide protests. Speaking to AFP while promoting her French-language memoir, The Chess Player, Hejazipour described recent events as "highly distressing" and recounted a hospital friend's report of numerous gunshot wounds—many victims shot in the eyes—and multiple deaths.

Protests And Personal Toll

Hejazipour left Iran five years ago after removing her mandatory headscarf during a competition in Moscow. The communication blackout has left many exiled Iranians anxious and searching social media for news. "I haven’t been able to reach my family in Iran for ten days because the internet and phone service are cut off," she told AFP. "It’s very hard to sleep or eat. But we’re hanging in there," she added, saying hope that "the sacrifice of Iranians" will not be in vain.

Scale Of The Crackdown

The protests, which began in late December amid economic hardship, have become the most serious challenge to Iran's leadership in years. Rights groups report they have verified at least several thousand protesters killed by security forces, and some estimates place the toll as high as 20,000—though the full scale of the crackdown remains difficult to confirm amid restricted communications.

From Mashhad Prodigy To French Champion

Born in Mashhad, Hejazipour began playing chess at age six with her father. In her memoir she writes that chess was "a balm to soothe my sorrow, my shield against life’s uncertainties." After publicly removing her veil at the World Championship in Moscow in December 2019, she left Iran and later gained French nationality. She became French national champion in 2023 and helped France finish third at the World Team Championships that year.

Politics, Memoir And Expectations

Hejazipour told AFP she believes the Islamic Republic's days are limited because the Iranian people are "increasingly mobilised and angry." She named Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of Iran's former shah, as a potential unifying figure for a democratic transition. Candidly, she said she wakes each day hoping for the regime's fall and the chance to return to a free Iran.

Advocacy And New Beginnings

Her memoir, The Chess Player, which is being published in French this week, traces her childhood, rise as a chess prodigy and the difficult choice to leave Iran. Now living in Paris, Hejazipour has founded a charity to encourage more women to take up chess as "a tool of empowerment." While grateful for the welcome she received in France, she acknowledges how challenging it is to rebuild a life in relative anonymity after being well known at home.