Articles
A Month Of Magnus! Martin! And... Jeans?

A Month Of Magnus! Martin! And... Jeans?

Avatar of CHESScom
| 84 | Other

Yes, that's right, pants were a key storyline in chess this past month (this year, really). But not just any pair of pants: GM Magnus Carlsen's pair of pants.

Read on to see what the heck we're talking about, plus other key events in chess this month and next, including our latest computer personalities—it turns out Martin has quite the family.

Here's what this update covers: 


Events

Two major tournaments happened in February, the Chessable Masters and Freestyle Chess Grand Slam, with a combined $900,000 on the line. One winner was expected, and the other was a surprise. What is in store for March?

Magnus Carlsen Champions Chess Tour

Product & Engineering

Bots, of course, plus some quality-of-life improvements you should know about.

Martin Bots

  • Everyone's first bot, Martin, is no longer the only member of his infamous family that you can play. For all of March, you can challenge not just Martin (and enjoy some new dialogue) but also his kids, dog, and wife.
  • Experience improvements continue to be rolled out to 100% of Chess.com members, as anyone on web can now hear coach audio in Lessons and access the improved Show Moves tool in Game Review, with both features now 100% released.

If you are in tech and would like to join our team, we're hiring!

Community

Carlsen made news back in December when he chose to quit the World Rapid Championship instead of changing out of the pair of blue jeans he wore to the event. When he decided to put that same pair of jeans up for a charity auction, our community stepped forward in a big way. 

Carlsen Auction

  • Magnus's infamous pair of blue jeans from the 2024 World Rapid Championship went at auction for $36,100, raising money for Big Brothers Big Sisters!
  • Musician and chess fan Hamilton Leithauser hosted an arena tournament in the community club on March 5, which 220 community members joined. Winner @JayRx earned a match with Leithauser, tickets to a Leithauser show, and three months of Diamond.
  • We just wrapped our disc golf onsite activation this weekend (at the Discraft Supreme Flight Open Presented by Florida's Adventure Coast in Brooksville, FL), which ended in a three-round Swiss 10+0 tournament won by pro disc golfer Ethan Hine
  • To make the most of the ongoing Chess Improvement Challenge, join the club today and check out the club forum, too! Every month, we will recognize the top improvers and share improvement stories.

      Content

      Lots of great content to share from this past month as well!

      • Hikaru and Magnus also gave interviews, focusing on the ever-changing role of FIDE in chess and its relationship with top players.

      Chessable

      Chessable's got not one but two exciting new courses and course updates this month, including one currently available for 40% off—with a combined more than 30 hours of video between them.

      Kostya Kavutskiy Chessable

      ChessKid 

      The Kids vs. Stars series had its fourth rendition and is quickly becoming a popular event for fans and prodigies alike.

      Kids vs. Stars 4 Daniel Naroditsky

      Fair Play

      The work of ensuring a fair playing environment never ends. Relative to some past months, however, titled players were generally well-behaved in February.

      February Chess.com Fairplay

      Fair Play Stats for February:

      • 810,006 reports created
      • 106,481 Fair Play closures (including eight titled players: four CMs, one NM, two FMs, and one IM)
      • 31,300+ mute actions
      • 27,700+ accounts muted
      • 201,500+ abuse closures
      • 46,704,898 rating points refunded

      Support

      Our growth together has also increased the demands on our Support team, who continues to answer the call!

      • Average Time to First Human Response: 2 days
      • Total Number of Conversations: 27,541
      • Average Quality by Member Rating: 91.3%
      • Total Ratings: 3,545

      Thank you for being part of the world's largest chess community. Let us know your thoughts and ideas in the comments below!


      Missed any updates? Open the menu below for all past editions of the Community Update, or find last month's here.

      Community Update Archive
      More from CHESScom
      A February Full Of Feats, Features, And Fun

      A February Full Of Feats, Features, And Fun

      Old Chess.com Study Guide

      Old Chess.com Study Guide