Chess player fired by Iran over headscarf joins US team

TEHRAN, Iran – An Iranian news agency says a woman who was kicked off the national chess team for attending an international competition without wearing an Islamic headscarf has joined the U.S. team.

The semi-official ISNA news agency reported Monday that Dorsa Derakhshani, who refused to wear the headscarf, known as a hijab, during a February competition in Gibraltar, has joined the U.S. national team.

Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Iran has required women to wear the hijab in public places.