Kamran Shirazi (Persian: کامران شیرازی; born 21 November 1952) is an International Master of chess, who won the Iranian Chess Championship in 1972. Born in Tehran,[2] he has represented Iran, the United States, and France. He moved to the United States in the late 1970s and quickly became one of the most active players in the country, winning many tournaments, including the Southern California Open (five times), the World Open (tied for first in 1983), the National Open (tied for first in 1985), and the Memorial Day Classic (tied for first in 1986).[3][4]
He was known for playing strange and unorthodox openings. Shirazi's rating rose rapidly and he became one of the highest rated players in the United States Chess Federation. However, when invited to play in the 1984 U.S. Chess Championship, Shirazi managed only one draw from 17 games, finishing last.[5] In that championship, Shirazi also achieved the dubious distinction of losing the shortest decisive game in the history of the U.S. Championship: his game as White against John Peters, which went 1.e4 c5 2.b4 cxb4 3.a3 d5 4.exd5 Qxd5 5.axb4?? Qe5+ 0-1.
As of 2006, Shirazi had been living in France for several years. He changed his FIDE federation from the US to France in 2006.
As of 2020, Shirazi play online on the chess site Lichess.org [6]
On the September 2019 FIDE list, he has an Elo rating of 2347.
As of 2024, Shirazi play online with engine assistance on the chess site Lichess.org [7]
Notable games
In this game, Kamran Shirazi boldly plays an extremely sharp line regarded as dubious for Black (White has won many brilliancies in this line), and beats a computer with it:
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