‘It just didn’t feel right’: Top Iran chess player on why she removed headscarf

Sara Khadem talks from Spain after tournament decision some saw as sign of her support for protests back home

Chess board

The routine played out each time Iran’s Sara Khadem travelled abroad for chess tournaments – between contemplating openings and sizing up her opponents, the top-ranked chess player kept a constant eye on the cameras that roamed the hall, pulling off her headscarf as soon as they stopped rolling.

But when the invite arrived for a tournament in Kazakhstan in December – Khadem’s first in three years – the 25-year-old knew she no longer wanted to keep up the pretence.