Persia may be the birthplace of chess, but this didn't stop an Iranian chess grandmaster from defecting to the team of their nemesis- the US.
The grandmaster was banned from the Iranian national chess team, allegedly for attending an international competition without wearing an Islamic headscarf, according to an Iranian news agency report on Monday.
The semi-official ISNA reported that Dorsa Derakhshani refused to wear the headscarf, known as the hijab, during a February competition in Gibraltar, and joined the U.S. national team.
Dorsa left Tehran and moved to Barcelona in 2015 after she received an invitation by a chess club that also supported her studies, according to ISNA.
She was awarded the titles Woman Grandmaster and International Master by the World Chess Federation in 2016.
Derakhshani's brother was also banned from the Iranian team for a different reason - he dared to play a game against an Israeli opponent.