Alireza Firouzja Plays Chess from Bed After Ankle Injury

Alireza Firouzja played a Grand Chess Tour game from his hotel room on Monday after suffering an ankle injury over the weekend.

What happened?

The Iranian-born chess grandmaster turned his Bucharest hotel room into an unconventional chess arena.

Alireza Firouzja stretched out across a bed with his injured ankle raised on a pillow.

Javokhir Sindarov sat opposite him in an office chair.

Unconventional Chess Match

The scene of Firouzja playing from bed has become a viral image.

The Bucharest leg of the Grand Chess Tour is a 10-game round-robin tournament.

Alireza Firouzja returned to action in surreal fashion, playing from his room with the board balanced on a small bedside table.

A Gloriously Absurd Setting

The image of Alireza Firouzja in red shorts and black T-shirt for his round-five game quickly spread across social media.

Uzbek Sindarov appeared entirely unfazed, calmly leaning over the board.

Alireza Firouzja played horizontally from his mattress, creating a scene that may become one of the enduring images of this year’s tour.

The sport built on ritual, silence and immaculate playing halls, was gloriously absurd as world-class chess unfolded not beneath chandeliers and sponsor boards, but between a bedside lamp, a hotel duvet and a pair of abandoned training shoes.