‘A healthy mind in a healthy body’ – a fine aspiration, but what do you do when both let you down at once? That was the case for Alireza Firouzja at the Superbet Chess Classic Romania 2026. He struggled at the outset, scoring just a draw and two losses from his first three games. The crucial moment from the third is shown below, after Giri has just pushed his pawn to b4.
Anish Giri–Alireza Firouzja
Grand Chess Tour, Romania, May 2026
68… Be1?? The decisive mistake. Instead, 68…h1=Q+! 69 Kxh1 Be1 was a crucial nuance to achieve the draw, because 70 Rc4+ Kf3! carries a threat of g3-g2+ forcing a promotion. White might instead try 70 Rb3 Bxb4 71 Kg2, but even if the pawn on g3 drops, the endgame remains drawn because White can never win the a5 pawn in favourable circumstances. 69 Rc4+ Ke3 70 b5 h1=Q+ 71 Kxh1 Kf3 72 Rc2 After 72…Bf2 73 Rc3+ Be3 74 Rxe3+ Kxe3 75 Kg2 the passed b-pawn decides the game, so Black resigns
At that point, he sustained an ankle injury and had to postpone the following game against Caruana. Firouzja must have contemplated withdrawing from the event, but the organisers found a creative solution: he played the next games in a separate room, reclining sideways on a hotel bed.
This bizarre arrangement has a precedent: at the Tilburg Interpolis tournament in 1985, the late Tony Miles, Britain’s first grandmaster, suffered from back problems and played his games lying on his front on a massage table. Perhaps his opponents were more distracted by this than he was, as Miles went on to finish in joint first place.
No such luck for Firouzja, who salvaged a draw against Sindarov from a very poor position, and lost his rescheduled game against Caruana. Languishing on 1/5, Firouzja withdrew from the event, perhaps having decided that the impediment was just too severe. Tournament rules dictate that since Firouzja had completed more than half of the nine games, his existing results would stand, while later opponents would get a default victory. That gave a boost to the tournament leader Vincent Keymer, who got a free point and an extra day of rest, and went on to take first place with 6/9.
After his game with Firouzja, Giri posted a remarkable position on X, inspired by a variation from the same game. The boot is on the other foot, as the obvious 65 Rh1 g3 66 Kf1 Kf3 67 fxg3 Kxg3 is hopeless, as the Rh1 is soon lost. But there is a beautiful path to a draw.
65 b4!! Bxb4 65…axb4 66 Rh1 g3 67 fxg3+ Kxg3 68 Kd3 Kg2 69 Rxh2+ Kxh2 70 a5 b3 71 a6 Bc5 72 Kc3 draws 66 Rh1 g3 67 Kf1 Kf3 67…Bc5 68 Kg2 is an easy draw 68 Rxh2!! gxh2 Draw by stalemate
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