Texans row ‘wild’, YouTube star MrBeast tells chess champion

World chess No.1 Magnus Carlsen has won the support of the world’s most popular YouTuber after pulling out of a tournament over a request from organizers not to wear jeans.

Norway’s Carlsen had been defending his FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Championships titles in New York when he was fined for his outfit and told to change immediately.

The 34-year-old had offered to change his trousers the following day but withdrew after the decision, adding that he was “too old at this point to care too much” to appeal .

OOTD pic.twitter.com/9reOP6zuJv

— Magnus Carlsen (@MagnusCarlsen) December 28, 2024

wild

— MrBeast (@MrBeast) December 28, 2024

MrBeast supports Carlsen in X

Carlsen later took to X, where he has more than a million followers, to playfully share his “OOTD,” a reference to the “outfit of the day” posts that users typically deploy to reflect their choices of style

American MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, was one of Carlsen’s many admirers to respond favorably 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 nearly 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 said that Carlsen was “very modest, very attentive”.

In a statement, FIDE said the five-time world chess champion had been fined £159 and stressed that its rules were applied “impartially”.

FIDE Statement on Magnus Carlsen’s Dress Code Breach

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

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

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

The net worth of Magnus Carlsen

The controversy is likely to enhance Carlsen’s status as the world’s best-known chess player, a position that has helped him reap big gains during nearly 15 years dominating the rankings.

Its collaborations and endorsements have included gaming desk and chair makers 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 business interest.

Carlsen’s stake in the company has been worth at least £8m in recent years, it said Celebrity Net Worthwhich says it earns around £1.6m from sponsorships and “several million more” from tournament prize money.

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