Chess Grand Master Magnus Carlsen forfeited a tournament over a pair of jeans that he has just sold in a charity auction for $36,100.
Last year, Magnus Carlsen was asked to change his trousers at the World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships in New York.
The tournament’s defending champion, world number 1, and potentially the best chess player ever said, “no”.
His refusal to accede to a dress code of “dark coloured trousers” in “business casual dress” code cost him an immediate fine of $200 and his place in the tournament.
Carlsen is renowned as a free spirit in the chess world.
He’s been a Grand Master since he was 13, and is one of the few players of the game to have a profile outside of it.
Chess champion Bobby Fischer, seen here in 1972, was unusual in having a profile outside the game.
In 2022, he accused another player of cheating, leading to a long legal battle that ended with an out-of-cour settlement and Carlsen accepting that his victorious opponent hadn’t broken the rules.
In the end, Fide (the International Chess Federation) let their star player sit back at the board.
Now, the most famous jeans in chess history have a new owner.
They were sold in an online auction after a flurry of bidding in the sale’s final hours pushed the 32-inch waist Corneliani jeans up from around $14,000 to their final price.
The trousers cost around $400 to buy new.
Carlsen said: “It was my thought from very early on that this was a fun idea. It’s all going to a nice charity. Hopefully it’s something people are interested in. They’re certainly up there with some of the more contemporary jeans. That’s for sure.”
The cash will go to the Big Brothers Big Sisters of America organisation to help them with their mentorship programmes for young people.
Millions of people around the world play chess and there is big money at the top of the game: last year’s World Chess Championship had a $2.5-million prize pot.
Chess pieces and sets can be very expensive and are commonly embellished and decorated as luxury items. A diamond encrusted set called the Jewel Royale sold for £9 million. In 1966, Yoko Ono made a piece called White Chess Set consisting of all white players on an all-white board. That would certainly be valuable, as are many historic and historical sets.
A few chess players reach the status of global celebrity, and become collectible in their own right. Bobby Fischer’s autograph is listed online for around $1,000 for example.
