At the World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championship in New York at the end of last year, FIDE went a little overboard with its dress code, issuing warnings to a number of players who were actually dressed quite appropriately for the event. The most prominent victim was Magnus Carlsen, whose jeans were deemed inappropriate for the event by the arbiter. The arbiter was also extremely clumsy in his warning, telling Carlsen to change immediately, which led to Carlsen withdrawing from the tournament.

In the end, however, FIDE was able to persuade Carlsen to take part in the Blitz World Championship, which Carlsen had already cancelled. The dispute between Carlsen and the Freestyle activists on the one hand and FIDE on the other over the role and name of the Freestyle Grand Slam was already smouldering in the background. Should the winner of the Freestyle Grand Slam be called the Freestyle Chess World Champion or just the Freestyle Chess Champion? These tensions may also have played a role in the dress code quarrel about Carlsen's jeans.

The incident caused a great stir in the chess world and in the media, and FIDE's dress code and its application were the subject of much discussion in the aftermath. 

Magnus Carlsen is now making the most of the world's currently most famous jeans and is having them auctioned on Ebay for a good cause. 

For anyone who wants to buy the jeans at the auction to wear it themselves: Magnus Carlsen is about 1.80 cm tall and wears clothing size L or 52. The waist size of the jeans is 32. They are Corneliani jeans. Magnus Carlsen has certified the authenticity of the jeans.

The auction ends on 1 March 2025. At the time of publication of this article, the highest bid was 8000 US dollars. The proceeds of the auction will go to the Big Brothers Big Sisters youth organisation.