Fahim Mohammad

He was born in Dhaka, Bangladesh in 2000 and moved to France in 2008 with his father. The family sought political asylum, which was initially rejected by the French authorities. Meanwhile, Fahim had started playing chess at the chess club in Creteil. In 2012, he became national chess champion in the under-12 category. He continued to excel in chess, and by 2016, his Elo rating had risen to 2276, placing him among the top 150 players in the world in the under-16 category.

Fahim's life story was told in a 2014 book by Sophie Le Callennec and Xavier Parmentier. The book has been translated in multiple languages, including in English under the title A King in Hiding. The book has also been turned into a film called Fahim. Directed by Pierre-François Martin-Laval and starring Gerard Depardieu, the movie is released in 2019.[1]