Firmesk Wirya Qaneh
Chess · Chess · Kurdistan
“The first Kurdish woman to win gold at the Arab Chess Championship.”
Firmesk Wirya Qaneh — born in 1965 in the village of Langa Deh near Sulaymaniyah, two months after the death of her grandfather, the renowned poet Qaneh, and named for the Kurdish word for "tear" — became one of the most decorated Kurdish chess players in history. Eleven-time Iraqi national champion and the first Kurdish woman to take Arab Championship gold, she competed in traditional Kurdish dress on the international stage, carrying her identity to the board across three decades and seven international medals.
Career highlights
- 1979
Joins the Iraqi national team
Officially named to the National Chess Team of Iraq, beginning a competitive career that would span three decades.
- 1980–1992
Eleven-time Iraqi champion
Wins the Iraqi national women's chess title eleven times between 1980 and 1992, an era of dominance unmatched in the country's game.
- 1985
Arab Championship gold in Casablanca
Became the first Kurdish woman to win a gold medal at the Arab Chess Championship in Morocco — a result so unexpected that some media questioned her ethnicity.
- 1987
Asian Championship — in Kurdish dress
The first woman to compete at the Asian Chess Championship wearing traditional Kurdish attire, turning the board into a stage for her identity.
- 1999
A triumphant return — and Arab Games gold
Returned to the Iraqi national team after the Gulf War had interrupted her career in 1990, alongside her sisters Khatuzin and Chinar, taking individual and team gold at the Arab Games.
- 2000
A draw with Anatoly Karpov
She held Anatoly Karpov, the former world champion, to a draw — the result that sealed her reputation as a player to be reckoned with.
- Career
Seven international medals
Across her career she won seven medals in international events — five gold, one silver, and one bronze.
- Today
International referee, and teaching the next generation
She serves as an international chess referee and teaches chess at Cambridge International School, passing on the game she spent three decades competing in.
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