--- title: The Iranian Chess Master Making Moves for Freedom description: Sara Khadem has no regrets after acting in solidarity with protest movements in her home country canonical: https://time.com/collections/next-generation-leaders/6317290/sara-khadem/ article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2023-10-05T10:44:15.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-03T00:21:29.503Z og:title: The Iranian Chess Master Making Moves for Freedom og:description: Sara Khadem has no regrets after acting in solidarity with protest movements in her home country og:url: https://time.com/collections/next-generation-leaders/6317290/sara-khadem/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltceb523f056b4a0bb/698a40e5db29877328269666/next-generation-leaders-sara-khadem.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: The Iranian Chess Master Making Moves for Freedom og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Iranian Chess Master Making Moves for Freedom twitter:description: Sara Khadem has no regrets after acting in solidarity with protest movements in her home country twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltceb523f056b4a0bb/698a40e5db29877328269666/next-generation-leaders-sara-khadem.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Oct 05, 2023 # The Iranian Chess Master Making Moves for Freedom > Sponsored content. 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account. Sara Khadem, Iran/Spain by [Sean Gregory](https://time.com/author/sean-gregory/) ## Sean Gregory Senior Correspondent  Sara Khadem in Spain, Jan. 10, 2023. Sara Khadem in Spain, Jan. 10, 2023.Ximena y Sergio When Iranian chess star Sara Khadem, an International Master, competed without a hijab at an international event last December in Almaty, Kazakhstan—in defiance of her country’s mandatory dress regulations—she knew the risk she was taking. She could be arrested upon returning home—or worse. Khadem acted in solidarity with the protest movements that erupted after [Mahsa Jina Amini](https://time.com/6236067/mahsa-amini-jina-iran-kurdish-identity/) died after being [arrested](https://time.com/6295238/iran-morality-police-return/) for allegedly not wearing a hijab properly. “This wasn’t some decision I made quickly,” she says. “I thought about it. I knew it was right. So I have no regrets.”  Sara Khadem in Spain, Jan. 10, 2023. Ximena y Sergio Fearing repercussions from Iran, Khadem is now living in Spain, where she received citizenship this summer so she can participate in global chess events with the support of the Spanish chess federation. While Khadem has found a safe haven abroad with her husband and son, she’s still separated from her family. She did not get to say goodbye to her grandmother, who died of cancer this summer. “That was very difficult,” she says. She takes comfort, however, knowing that many Iranians support her stance and are inspired by her career, no matter what flag she represents officially. “If I am successful in my field, I will still make the Iranian people happy,” says Khadem, who recently helped her team win the championship of the inaugural Global Chess League. “Because I’m Iranian, after all.” **Read More:** [_Column:_](https://time.com/6312691/mahsa-amini-death-anniversary-iran/)[_Mahsa Amini’s Death Still Haunts the Iranian Regime_](https://time.com/6312691/mahsa-amini-death-anniversary-iran/) When Khadem, who first started playing chess at age 8, won a gold medal at an under-12 world championship, she remembers hoping for a round of applause when she returned to school. Instead, her teacher chastised her in front of the class, saying: “‘Maybe you are wasting your future,’” Khadem recalls. “‘You’re smart. You can use that on other stuff.’” Khadem didn’t listen. Now she’s ranked 15th among women in the world. And she hopes to return to Iran in the near future. “I don’t think it will be so easy for me to go back,” she says. “But it’s my homeland.” The Iranian Chess Master Making Moves for Freedom ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/next-generation-leaders/6317290/sara-khadem/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/next-generation-leaders/6317290/sara-khadem/"},"headline":"The Iranian Chess Master Making Moves for Freedom","datePublished":"2023-10-05T10:44:15.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-03T00:21:29.503Z","description":"Sara Khadem has no regrets after acting in solidarity with protest movements in her home country","url":"https://time.com/collections/next-generation-leaders/6317290/sara-khadem/","keywords":["franchise","Magazine","nextgenerationleaders","Next Generation Leaders","sponsorshipblock","NGL2023"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltceb523f056b4a0bb/698a40e5db29877328269666/next-generation-leaders-sara-khadem.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sean Gregory","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/sean-gregory/"}],"creator":"Sean Gregory","articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltceb523f056b4a0bb/698a40e5db29877328269666/next-generation-leaders-sara-khadem.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/next-generation-leaders/6317290/sara-khadem/","name":"The Iranian Chess Master Making Moves for Freedom"}}]}] ```