The ‘jeans that broke chess’ are on sale and the price keeps skyrocketing

Ever wanted to get into Magnus Carlsen’s pants? Well, now you can, provided you’re willing to fork over several thousand dollars. Yes, I’m very serious about this.

You may or may not have been aware of Carlsen’s pants problems last year, but it was probably the biggest and definitely the silliest controversy in international chess since the debacle that buzzed around Hans Niemann in 2022.

Carlsen showed up to play in last year’s World Rapid and Blitz Championship, but was told he had to change clothes before he could. Instead, Carlsen walked out and said he was quitting the championship and all International Chess Federation (FIDE) events as well before eventually cooling off that decision. The big problem with his wardrobe that led to all of this? He was wearing jeans, a big no-no for FIDE’s in-person competitions. And now, those jeans are up for sale in a charity auction, where the bidding has already eclipsed $7,500 at the time of writing.

FIDE has dress codes for international events, where suits, collared shirts, and slacks are the norm. Players will sometimes push the bounds of that dress code in the sake of comfort, but denim jeans were a bridge too far for the organizing body.

The money made from the problematic pants will go towards Big Brothers Big Sisters of America and supporting youth chess clinics the organization puts on. The eBay page notes that they’re “pre-owned” (thanks for that, eBay), with a size 32 waist and 28-inch inseam. So, now I guess we all know that about Carlsen.

I’m hoping to everything that is holy that whoever buys these are going to display them or keep them as some sort of collector’s item instead of purchasing with the intent of actually wearing them, as I don’t want to really consider all the reasons why someone might spend thousands of dollars to do that. But if that’s why you might be into it, the jeans were made by fashion company Corneliani, which is currently selling its jeans for no less than $475. So, if you always wanted to try out luxury fashion jeans worn by probably the greatest player in the history of chess… now’s your chance?

All jokes aside, a piece of Carlsen memorabilia is the clear driver here. While he’s technically not the FIDE world classical chess champion anymore, that’s only because he abdicated that title by choosing not to defend it any longer. He’s still generally considered the strongest chess player in the world, despite 18-year-old Gukesh Dommaraju now holding the world champion title.

And what better way to stoke the flames of Carlsen’s mystique than a highly public feud with chess’ main governing body? It doesn’t matter what that feud is about, be it about playing events with other organizers or just wearing some jeans to a match.