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Magnus Carlsen promises to wear ‘tighter jeans’ in hilarious jeansgate reminder ahead of World Rapid and Blitz C'ships
Magnus Carlsen served a hilarious reminder of the controversial jeansgate incident in last year's World Rapid and Blitz C'ships.
Magnus Carlsen reminded fans of his jeansgate controversy from the 2024 World Rapid and Blitz Championships. During the rapid tournament, Carlsen fell out with the FIDE organisers and arbiter after he arrived wearing a pair of jeans, which wasn't in accordance with the rules and regulations.
The Norwegian was also fined and warned by the arbiter. The arbiter also asked him to change his jeans, but he declined, claiming that he would do it the next day. However, Carlsen was instead expelled from later pairings on the day and was allowed to return the next day.
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Carlsen responded by pulling out of the tournament, and also slammed FIDE for their organising skills. He did return for the Blitz tournament, but he once again created controversy, sharing the title with Ian Nepomniachtchi.
"9 years ago I left the world rapid and blitz in Doha with two near misses and some viral rage moments. This year I hope to improve on the former, but regardless I promise to deliver on the latter.," he wrote.
"Also, I’ll be grinding the gym to fit into tighter jeans than last time", he added.
Carlsen also auctioned his infamous jeans on eBay for approximately ₹31,57,686, and handed over the proceeds to a charity. It was a 10-day bidding war.
When asked about the auction, he 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 among the more contemporary jeans. That's for sure."
The open sections at the World Rapid and Blitz Championships will also feature 28 men and 13 women from India. Other than D Gukesh, fans will also get to see the likes of Arjun Erigaisi, R Praggnaandhaa, Nihal Sarin, Koneru Humpy and Divya Deshmukh in action.
