The news may seem surprising. On Friday, Magnus Carlsen withdrew from the World Rapid Chess Championships in New York, where he was the defending champion. The reason? The Norwegian, wearing jeans, failed to comply with the dress code imposed by FIDE (the International Chess Federation), which forbids the wearing of such clothing during a competition.
In a press release, FIDE stated that its dress code was designed to “guarantee professionalism and fairness for all participants”. The organization added that it had fined Carlsen 200 dollars (some 192 euros) and given him the opportunity to change his clothes, which the world number one refused.
“I put on a shirt, a jacket and, honestly, I didn’t even think about jeans. I even changed my shoes.”
Carlsen said he had a working lunch before the round and needed to change quickly. “I put on a shirt, a jacket and, honestly, I didn’t even think about jeans. I even changed my shoes.said the 34-year-old Norwegian to Take Take Take, the chess app he co-founded. I didn’t even think about it… First I got a fine, which was nice, then I got a warning that I wouldn’t be matched if I didn’t go and change. They said I could do it after the third round today… (Friday). I said: “I’ll change tomorrow (Saturday) if that’s okay with you. I didn’t even realize it today. But they said, ‘Well, you have to change now.’ At that point, it became a bit of a matter of principle for me.”
The world champion between 2013 and 2023 added that he would not appeal the decision: “Honestly, I’m too old at this point to care too much. If that’s what they want to do, I’ll probably go somewhere where the weather’s a bit nicer.”
