The 15th Rouen Open takes place Tue 26th to Fri 29th Dec 2023. It's an event I've never covered in TWIC before. Alireza Firouzja plays in this 7 round Swiss in a final, final attempt to qualify for the Candidates. FIDE probably won't rate the Chartres matches, and I have at least some sympathy with that position but surely it comes down to the rules, then the whole thing will probably go to the courts. Rouen is different to Chartres and will in my view be rated, this is a regular Swiss, Firouzja knew going in he would have to score 7/7. In round 6 he defeated his main obstacle, Gata Kamsky and now faces fellow Iranian expat IM Kamran Shirazi who was a hero from my chess youth. Shirazi has lived in France for many years and is a frequent competitor in the Paris Championship. These days he's not even the player he was and ought not to be in Firouzja's class but the pressure is on the young man.
