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4 hours ago
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A persuasive case can be made that Magnus Carlsen is the greatest chess player of all time. The 34-year‑old Norwegian is no longer world champion – bored with classic (long-form) chess, he chose not to defend his title in 2023 – but his name resonates with the public more than ever. This is not due to his expertise in the Sicilian Defence but because chess’s world governing body, Fide, recently barred him from playing in a tournament for wearing jeans. “Jeansgate” illustrates that while the public may care little for the niceties of chess openings, they are captivated by the eccentricities of the chess world.
The fabulous (often chess-inspired) costumes in Netflix’s drama hit The Queen’s Gambit made style magazines swoon. But in real life, chess and fashion rarely intersect, though the great Cuban world champion of the 1920s, José Raúl Capablanca, was a splendidly natty dresser who would never have been seen dead in a pair of jeans, and American world champion, Bobby Fischer, in his 1960s and early 70s pomp, sported bespoke suits, shirts and shoes. Fischer’s later decline – wandering Budapest in a dishevelled state – unfortunately mirrors the stereotype of chess players as a marginalised, shabbily attired community.
It is because some professional chess players had a reputation for being unkempt that Fide introduced dress codes governing what they could wear during tournaments. Fide’s general rules permit jeans (at least neat ones like the pair Carlsen was wearing), but for the World Rapid and Blitz Championships, played in late December at glitzy venues on New York’s Wall Street, the regulations were tightened up to forbid them. At the heart of corporate America, the mantra was “dress to impress”. “It’s about creating a positive and inspiring image for chess,” intoned Fide. Fine, but Carlsen always dresses well; just not in Capablanca‑style three-piece suits. His jeans were tailored and expensive. He has been an ambassador for clothing brand G-Star Raw, which quickly renewed his contract after the New York debacle. Every cloud has a silver lining – for Carlsen at least.
The episode has left Fide looking absurd. A code designed to outlaw “unclean clothing, beachwear, torn pants, denim shorts and sunglasses” managed to ban a fashion model. In fact, it was worse than that. Carlsen quit the rapidplay tournament when he was barred from round 9. By his standards, he was performing poorly and had little to lose. But an embarrassed Fide relaxed the jeans rule and he returned for the subsequent blitz tournament (rapidplay is quick chess, blitz even faster), which he promptly won. Or rather he shared first prize with the Russian Ian Nepomniachtchi, because, after a succession of draws, the two refused to play on and opted instead to be joint winners, ignoring the tie-break rules and in effect sidelining Fide. Carlsen 2, Fide 0.
There is a strong argument for seeing “Jeansgate” as part of a wider battle over who controls the sport – Fide or the players? Carlsen is currently challenging Fide by championing a new series of “freestyle” chess tournaments, where the opening positions of pieces are randomised. Freestyle chess is derived from Fischer Random, a variant introduced by Carlsen’s illustrious predecessor in 1996. Thus does history repeat itself: both champions voluntarily relinquished their crowns and became bigger than the game they graced. This is not a battle about fashion but about power, and so far Carlsen is winning.
