The Russian chess player Ian Alexandrovich NepomniachtchiThe 32-year-old surprised everyone this Thursday when he showed up to play World Blitz Blitz Chess in Kazakhstan wearing a very distinctive shirt.

The attire of Magnus Carlsen’s latest challenger winks Lionel Messi and the Argentina national team world champion in Qatar 2022: “What are you looking at stupid? go over there“it can be read on the chest of the Russian with the letters of the colors blue and white.

Yes, the Russian seemed to compete with the phrase Lionel Messi popularized when he addressed Dutch striker Wout Weghorst in this way, after a very hot penalty for the Qatar 2022 quarter-finals.

In the video that aired on Twitter we see how the Grand Master, Russian champion in 2010 and 2020, is warned by the judges who remind him of the dress code to continue with the tournament. He smiles mischievously at the camera.