The chess scene has been buzzing with drama lately, kicking off during the FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Championship at the end of the year. It all started when Magnus Carlsen got fined and left out of a late pairing in the Rapid Championship for wearing jeans, which went against FIDE’s rules. The World No. 1 was told to change, but he wasn’t having it and said he’d switch his jeans the next day. With FIDE standing firm, Carlsen chose to walk away instead.

He made his return at the Blitz Championship, where FIDE tweaked the dress code. But the drama didn’t stop there; it flared up again in New York during the final match between Carlsen and Ian Nepomniachtchi. Carlsen kicked off the final with two wins and just needed a draw to clinch the title. Ian fought back in the third game and leveled it up in the fourth. After a tense sudden death that ended in a draw, Carlsen suggested they share the title, but FIDE wasn’t on board. Thankfully, after some intervention from FIDE President, they agreed to let both players share the title. In a now-famous video, Carlsen was heard telling Ian to play for quick draws if FIDE didn’t agree to their title-sharing idea.

That video blew up on social media, causing a stir with many chess Grandmasters and fans accusing him of match-fixing. Carlsen later took to X to clarify that his comments in the viral clip were just a joke. FIDE CEO Emil Sutovsky even decided to call Carlsen out publicly.

Peter Heine Nielsen takes a swing at FIDE

Peter Heine Nielsen, who has been Magnus Carlsen's coach for a long time and previously worked with Viswanathan Anand, jumped on X to defend Carlsen against the Israeli Grandmaster's claims.

Nielsen slammed FIDE, saying it's under the influence of the Kremlin and Vladimir Putin.

He stated, "You really don’t care that FIDE is being exploited for extreme war propaganda by Karjakin. There are thousands of tournaments happening in illegally occupied Ukraine, with Putin giving orders to 'neutral' Russian athletes. Plus, there are sponsors linked to Russia. It’s just wrong."

Arkady Dvorkovich, a Russian politician and former Deputy Prime Minister, is currently the President of FIDE. He also served as an Assistant to the President of the Russian Federation.

In the midst of the jeans scandal in New York, Carlsen claimed that FIDE was intimidating players involved in the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour. However, FIDE CEO Sutovsky refuted these claims and encouraged fans to get the real story from D Gukesh.

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