Jeans row ‘savage’, YouTube star MrBeast tells chess champion

Chess world number one Magnus Carlsen has won the backing of the world’s most popular YouTube creator after quitting a tournament over a request from organisers not to wear jeans.

Norwegian Carlsen had been defending his FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships titles in New York when he was fined for his attire and told to change immediately.

The 34-year-old had offered to change his trousers for the next day but pulled out after the decision, adding that he was “too old at this point to care too much” about appealing.

OOTD pic.twitter.com/9reOP6zuJv

— Magnus Carlsen (@MagnusCarlsen) December 28, 2024

Savage

— MrBeast (@MrBeast) December 28, 2024

MrBeast backs Carlsen on X

Carlsen subsequently used X, where he has more than a million followers, to playfully share his ‘OOTD’ – a reference to ‘outfit of the day’ posts commonly deployed by users to reflect their style choices.

American MrBeast – whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson – was among Carlsen’s many admirers to respond supportively to the post.

“Savage”, replied the social media sensation, who has more than 339 million subscribers on YouTube and the third-most followed of all TikTok accounts, with almost 107 million followers on the platform.

The official account of Chess.com, which is the largest online community of chess players and has more than 619,000 followers on X, responded with heart emojis, while heavily-followed partner account Anichess called Carlsen “very demure, very mindful”.

In a statement, FIDE said the five-time World Chess Champion had been fined £159 and emphasised that its rules were applied “impartially”.

FIDE statement regarding Magnus Carlsen’s dress code breach

FIDE regulations for the World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships, including the dress code, are designed to ensure professionalism and fairness for all participants.

Today, Mr. Magnus Carlsen breached the dress code… pic.twitter.com/SLdxBpzroe

— International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) December 27, 2024

Magnus Carlsen net worth

The controversy is likely to enhance Carlsen’s status as the world’s best-known chess player – a position that has helped him rake in huge earnings during almost 15 years of dominating the rankings.

His partnerships and endorsements have included gaming chair and desk creators Secretlab and payment card services giant Mastercard.

Play Magnus – the chess training and competition app Carlsen founded in 2013 – is said to provide his most lucrative commercial interest.

Carlsen’s stake in the venture has been worth at least £8 million in recent years, according to Celebrity Net Worth, which says he earns around £1.6m from sponsorships and “several million more” from tournament prize money.

The site estimates Carlsen’s net worth to be around £20m.