New Delhi: World No.1 chess player Magnus Carlsen’s recent standoff against the global chess governing body (FIDE) was an infamous episode for the chess fraternity. But now, in one of the most amusing moments of the sport, the jeans that the Norwegian Grandmaster put up at the FIDE World Rapid Championship in December last year, which led to his disqualification, was sold for INR 31 lakh ($36,100).
The 34-year-old Carlsen put up the 32-sized regular-fit Corneliani jeans for auction on the popular platform eBay with all the money going to Big Brothers Big Sisters charity. On the portal, the prominent player in the description for his jeans wrote – ‘Chess Grandmaster Magnus Carlsen’s #JeansGate Jeans’. The original price of the jeans was between $300 and $500.
The forbidden jeans – can now be yours
I am auctioning my jeans. A sentence I never thought I would write. But here we are.
All proceeds go to the Big Brothers Big Sisters program🙏
*Game wornhttps://t.co/qgMlBdIkQq
— Magnus Carlsen (@MagnusCarlsen) February 19, 2025
Carlsen left the World Rapid Championship in the middle of the round after he was fined by the tournament arbiter for wearing a jeans, which was a violation against the FIDE dress code. During one of the rounds, the Norwegian GM was asked to change the jeans but the player refused to do it on the same day and said he would do that in the following day.
Eventually, Carlsen was disqualified from the event and he expressed his disappointment on the same. This also divided the opinions among the chess fraternity over FIDE’s dress code stance in the current times. Carlsen later returned to participate in the FIDE World Blitz Championship.
Carlsen later went on to say that it was a matter of principle for him to defend against the FIDE norms and said he was tired with the world sporting body.
World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen’s jeans, the center of a “JeansGate” controversy after his disqualification from the FIDE World Rapid Championship for violating the dress code, were auctioned on eBay for $36,100. Other Sports Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
