On the second weekend in January, at the Brahms-Kontor building — an Art Deco marvel in the city centre — Germany’s highest level of competitive

Why superstar Magnus Carlsen is playing chess for St. Pauli

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2025-01-15 12:00:07

On the second weekend in January, at the Brahms-Kontor building — an Art Deco marvel in the city centre — Germany’s highest level of competitive team chess found itself under an unusual spotlight.

Magnus Carlsen — the most famous current chess player in the world and the game’s number one — made his debut for St. Pauli’s chess team.

St Pauli’s football team are its most famous side and won promotion to the Bundesliga last season. St Pauli’s amateur chess team, their own department within the broader club, are also new to their sport’s highest level, having also won promotion in 2024.

So far, they have found the going tough. They lost three of their first four games, drawing the other. Carlsen is part of their fight to stave off relegation and his first appearance got them their first win of the season.

He played twice over the weekend, beating the Netherlands’ Max Warmerdam in a 5.5-2.5 victory against SG Solingen on Saturday. On Sunday, Carlsen then drew with Wei Yi, the world number nine, but was unable to prevent St. Pauli’s 3.5-4.5 defeat by highly fancied Dusseldorfer SK.