Pocket Money
In the long running series (more than 15 years) about Top eBay Chess Items by Price (March 2010), I've never flagged a no-brainer. If there was ever a candidate for 'no-brainer', this is it.
The item below was titled 'Chess Grandmaster Magnus Carlsen's #JeansGate Jeans'. It sold for US $36.100 after 94 bids from 22 bidders. The price doubled in the last minute of bidding as two bidders slugged it out for possession of the jeans.
In the photo from the auction shown above, apparently from the '#JeansGate' incident, I've added a small inset showing the auction item. The description of the item started with an explanation of #JeansGate:-
On December 27th, 2024, Five-Time World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen was unpaired in the 9th round of FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Championships in New York City after refusing to change out of a pair of jeans in the playing hall. This interaction, both his refusal and interaction with the arbiter in the room, was dubbed by the chess community as #JeansGate and set the world on fire, gaining hundreds of millions of social media and mainstream news impressions in the week following.
Now, GM Carlsen is looking to bring that piece of chess history to auction in support of an impactful cause - Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS). The jeans that Magnus wore that day, certified and authenticated by Chess.com and the World #1 himself, are up for auction with all proceeds of the sale going to support youth mentorship at chess clinics, community events, and beyond, to build connection, belonging, and enrich the lives of young people through the game.
The description continued,
About the jeans:-
Brand: Corneliani
Color: Blue
Size: 32
Inseam: 28 inches
Waist: 18 inches (measured across)
Condition: Worn by Magnus Carlsen
The jeans come with a signed certificate of authenticity from GM Magnus Carlsen.
For another mention of the jeans incident on this blog, see World Championship Yahoos 2024 (December 2024). I don't see that the incident qualifies for 'Gate' status (e.g. 'Watergate'), but chess players live in their own world.
The seller was listed as 'matchfireauctions3b'. The auction description carried a long explanation that started with:-
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Who is Matchfire?
A: The selling party has retained Matchfire (The Matchfire Group) to manage this auction. Matchfire provides a comprehensive auction management service focused on creating successful high-value, high-profile promotional auctions for charities, nonprofit organizations and top brand companies. Matchfire is a promotional agency which helps define client brand promotional strategy through auctions, delivers creative design, and manages operations of feature online auctions for maximum visibility of well-known brands, media companies, charities, nonprofits, public relations firms and advertising agencies.
Q: Is Bidder Pre-Qualification necessary to participate in this auction?
A: All bidding activity below $5,000 does not need to be pre-qualified. Fixed price listings do not require prequalification.
Bidding above $5,000 must be Pre-Qualified. Click here to fill out the secure Bidder Pre-Qualification form. In order to help ensure a smooth and successful auction experience, Matchfire will be performing Bidder Pre-Qualification for this auction. Fixed price listings do not require prequalification.
What did one pair of jeans say to the other? 'You’re looking a little worn out today!'