A little over two years ago, no one would’ve predicted we would be reporting about scandals in the world of chess. And then, like a twisted fallen angel descending to Earth, came the anal beads. After that, the floodgates opened. Hans Niemann is suspected of cheating, someone makes a reddit joke about him using vibrating anal beads to be sent moves to use, and grandmaster Magnus Carlsen refuses to play him. Now, the aforementioned chess grandmaster has found himself in hot water because of his choice of pants.
Or at least, he did.
New York is currently playing home to the World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships. The current defending champion in Blitz is Carlsen, and he was expected to appear for this year’s competition. True to form, he did appear, but he did so wearing jeans.
This was aparently a big no-no, resulting in Carlsen being fined, and the tournament organization refusing to match Carlsen up for round nine of the tournament. The reasoning for the dress code is said to be out of a desire for professionalism and fairness.
While we can’t really know for sure how someone wearing jeans would make things unfair in the world of chess, the organizers did say the dress code is announced ahead of time. Also, Carlsen *was* given the opportunity to change clothes. He refused to do so that day, stating he would do so the next day, but this was not good enough for the officials. Carlsen was slapped with a $200 fine, which he accepted, but then proceeded to quit the tournament.
It looked like the grandmaster was not going to be able to defend his title until later in the day, he apparently put the board into a checkmate. Chess.com confirmed the dress code would be loosened, and Carlsen would be allowed to play. The FIDE (the French acronym for the World Chess Federation) reached an understanding with Carlsen, presumably because he’s the defending champion for Blitz Chess. It was a hell of a power play by Carlsen who seemingly has some issues with FIDE and its regulations.
He would’ve thought that the world of chess could be so fast-moving and political!? Then again it is Blitz Chess so if there was ever a time for quick updates and breaking news, not would be it. While it’s hard to call Carlsen a household name, he is one of the biggest names in the competitive scene and he’s more well known now thanks to his previous feud with Niemann and the faux-controversy over the anal beads. Is Carlsen just throwing his weight around because he’s the biggest name out there? Does FIDE need some serious change?
We’ll have to wait and see if Netflix does “The Jeans Gambit” next.
