a A convincing 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 – having grown tired of classical chess, he has chosen not to defend his title in 2023 – but his name resonates with the public more than ever. is calling. This is not because of his expertise in Sicilian defense, but because Fide, the world governing body for chess, recently banned him from a tournament for wearing jeans. “Jeansgate” shows that while the general public may have little interest in the splendor of chess openings, they are fascinated by the eccentricities of the chess world.
The stunning (chess-inspired) outfits from Netflix’s hit drama The Queen’s Gambit wowed style magazines. But in real life, chess and fashion rarely intersect. However, Cuba’s great world champion of the 1920s, José Raúl Capablanca, was a superbly fashionable dresser who would never be seen dead in jeans, and the American world champion , Bobby Fischer was. The 1960s and early 70s were a glamorous era of bespoke suits, shirts, and shoes. Fischer’s subsequent decline – wandering around Budapest in shabby form – unfortunately reflects the stereotype of chess players as a marginalized, shabbily dressed community.
Because some professional chess players had a reputation for being sloppy, Fide introduced a dress code that they could wear during tournaments. Fide’s general rules allow for the wearing of jeans (at least the decent ones Carlsen wore), but the World Rapid and Blitz Championships, which will be held at a glitzy venue on New York’s Wall Street in late December, will be held in late December. Regulations prohibiting the wearing of jeans have been tightened. A core tenet of corporate America was “dress to impress.” “It’s about creating a positive and exciting image of chess,” Fide said with emphasis. That’s fine, but Carlsen always wears nice clothes. But he’s not wearing a Capablanca-style three-piece suit. His jeans were well-tailored and expensive. He is an ambassador for the clothing brand G-Star Raw, and his contract was quickly renewed after the New York disaster. Every cloud has a silver lining, at least for Carlsen.
This episode made Fide look irrational. A decree aimed at banning “unclean clothing, beachwear, torn trousers, denim shorts and sunglasses” could ban fashion models. It was actually worse than that. Carlsen was banned from Round 9 and withdrew from the rapid play tournament. By his standards, his performance was poor and he had little to lose. But a perplexed Fide relaxed Jean’s rules and returned to the subsequent Blitz tournament (Rapid Play is Quick Chess, Blitz is even faster) and quickly won. Rather, he shared first place with Russia’s Ian Nepomniatchi. That’s because after a sustained draw, the two refused to play, choosing instead to become co-winners, ignoring the tie-break rule and effectively sidelining Fide. Carlsen 2, Fide 0.
There is a strong argument to see “Jeansgate” as part of a broader battle over who controls the sport, Fide or the players. Carlsen is currently challenging Fide to champion a new series of “freestyle” chess tournaments in which the starting positions of the pieces are randomized. Freestyle Chess is derived from Fischer Random, which Carlsen’s illustrious predecessor introduced in 1996. History repeats itself like this. Both champions voluntarily relinquished their crowns and became bigger than the game they graced. This isn’t a battle of fashion, it’s a battle of power, and so far Carlsen is winning.
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