How Magnus Carlsen scared away his fans in Germany

When FC St. Pauli announced in May 2024 that it had signed superstar Magnus Carlsen for the upcoming season in the German "Schach-Bundesliga" (top chess league in Germany), it was big news in Germany. The "Bild"-newspaper, Germany's largest daily newspaper, reported on it exclusively. St. Pauli later announced that Carlsen would play in a squad of other top grandmasters, including the Brit David Howell, a close friend of Carlsen's and well-known YouTube commentator at major chess events.

St. Pauli let it be known that they had a squad with which they could hardly be relegated. Carlsen's first appearance for the club in January of this year was even reported on the main news on television.

So much for the successful PR of the Hamburg cult-club. Chess fans in Hamburg and beyond must have had high hopes for Carlsen's participation in the Bundesliga-season for St. Pauli. But shortly before the end of the season, it is now clear that they were bitterly disappointed.

What happened?

The first appearance — playing in private

At the beginning of January, Magnus Carlsen sat at the board for FC St. Pauli for the first time.

You need to know this: FC St. Pauli has cult status in Hamburg and beyond. The club likes to present itself as unconventional, and its image also includes a traditional distance from excessive commercialisation of the sport. This applies to the football section, the so-called Kiezkicker, who play in the 1. Bundesliga, and it applies to the entire club, including the chess section.

The cult status of FC St. Pauli and its image were reportedly an important factor in Carlsen's decision to play for the club, according to sources close to him. It was rumoured before the chess season that Magnus Carlsen had also received a lucrative offer from another Bundesliga club (possibly from Düsseldorf, where a high-paid squad was also being put together). However, he deliberately opted for the neighbourhood club St. Pauli, with entrepreneur Jan Henric Buettner, who also organises the worldwide Weissenhaus Freestyle Tour with and for Carlsen, pulling the strings in the background.

However, Carlsen's appearance in a St.-Pauli-hoodie in January was a disappointment for chess fans. And FC St. Pauli missed the opportunity to remain true to its non-commercial image and reach a large audience with Carlsen as a drawcard.

The club could allegedly have sold 1000 tickets. In the end, it only sold a handful, and at a horrendous price of 100 euros per ticket.
The few spectators who had paid this lunar price were then disappointed once again when they reached the venue of the Bundesliga match day: The game was played in a cramped, gloomy conference floor of a company in Hamburg's city centre. The organisers had set up the boards in the small playing hall so that only two or three of the few fans who had gained access with a ticket had a clear view of Carlsen's board at any one time.

Magnus Carlsen playing for St. Pauli against chinese grandmaster Wei Yi (Düsseldorfer SK)

In view of the huge fan interest, this almost bordered on real-life satire.

As if that wasn't enough, there were further annoyances for the St. Pauli fans. Magnus Carlsen only appeared for a few minutes at a meet and greet in the clubhouse before disappearing again — one could almost say diva-like.

It also became known in those days that Carlsen was on Saudi Arabia's payroll as an e-sports ambassador, which also met with disapproval among fans in St. Pauli.

The second performance — cancelled

Magnus Carlsen was due to make his second appearance at the Millerntor on 22 and 23 March, this time in the spacious ballroom of the Millerntor football stadium in Hamburg. So there was enough space for more fans to see the chess superstar this time.

Just a few days before the match day, there were information around the club that Magnus Carlsen would be attending the match day and playing. The tickets had again been sold for a lot of money by the commercially critical FC St. Pauli club; a day ticket for the match between St. Pauli and Deizisau on Sunday, for example, cost 40 euros (there are clubs in the Bundesliga whose home games fans can attend for free).

But once again the fans were bitterly disappointed: Magnus Carlsen didn't turn up at all. Instead, David Howell played on board one for St. Pauli.

Howell is a great grandmaster, his win against Gata Kamsky from Deizisau was well worth seeing — but he's no Magnus Carlsen. And hardly anyone in the audience is likely to have paid 40 euros for David Howell against Gata Kamsky (the price didn't even include a cheese roll as catering!).

Conclusion: Magnus Carlsen is scaring away his fans — missed opportunity, St. Pauli

Magnus Carlsen didn't make any friends at St. Pauli with his behaviour at the meet and greet. His Saudi Arabia connection didn't go down well either. Above all, however, chess fans would have hoped for more after Carlsen's signing was announced by the club with so much fanfare. In the end, they hardly got to see Magnus at all.

FC St. Pauli is also to be criticised. The club, which has just been promoted to the Bundesliga, would have had the chance to do a lot for chess and its popularity in Germany with Magnus Carlsen at the helm. To do this, the club should have played at suitable venues and allowed fans to watch for free or at least at reasonable prices.

Instead, St. Pauli (St. Pauli of all clubs!) gives the impression that the club wants to use Magnus Carlsen as a drawing card to make money — and doesn't even get that right.