NEW YORK – The International Chess Federation announced that Magnus Carlsen, the top-ranked chess player, decided to withdraw from the World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships. This action came after he chose not to change out of the jeans he was initially wearing during the competition.
The federation said in a Friday statement that its regulations include a dress code that bars participants from wearing jeans at the event.
The federation stated on its website that, “The Chief Arbiter informed Mr. Carlsen of the breach, issued a $200 fine, and requested a change of attire.” Despite efforts to enforce the dress code, Carlsen declined to comply, leading to him being excluded from round nine. The federation emphasized that this decision was unbiased and applied universally to all participants.
In response, the 34-year-old Norwegian chess grandmaster acknowledged the $200 penalty in a video shared on his Take Take Take chess app. However, he stood firm on his refusal to switch his pants and subsequently opted to exit the competition hosted in New York.
“I said, ‘I’ll change tomorrow if that’s OK,” Carlsen said in the video. “But they said, ‘Well, you have to change now.’ At that point it became a bit of a matter of principle for me.”
The federation said in its statement that the dress code is “designed to ensure professionalism and fairness for all participants.”
It said fellow participant Ian Nepomniachtchi was also fined earlier Friday for breaching the dress code by wearing sports shoes.
“However, Mr. Nepomniachtchi complied, changed into approved attire, and continued to play in the tournament,” the statement said. “These rules have been in place for years and are well-known to all participants and are communicated to them ahead of each event.”
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