Chess great Magnus Carlsen quit the World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships in New York on Friday after governing body FIDE barred the Norwegian from participating in a round at the tournament for wearing jeans.
In a statement, the International Chess Federation (or Fédération Internationale des Échecs) said its dress code regulations were designed to “ensure professionalism and fairness for all participants.”
FIDE added that it had issued Carlsen a $200 fine and given him an opportunity to change into the correct attire, which the world No. 1 rejected.
Carlsen, world champion between 2013 and 2023, said he had a lunch meeting before the round and had had to change quickly.
“I put on a shirt, jacket and honestly, like, I didn’t even think about jeans, even changed my shoes,” Carlsen told Take Take Take.
“I didn’t even think about it. … First of all, I got a fine, which is fine, and then I got a warning that I would not be paired if I didn’t go change my clothes. They said that I could do it after the third round today.
“I said, ‘I’ll change tomorrow if that’s OK; I didn’t even realise 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 34-year-old added that he would not appeal the decision, saying: “Honestly, I am too old at this point to care too much.
“If this is what they want to do … I guess it goes both ways, right — nobody wants to back down — and this is where we are. It’s fine by me. I’ll probably head off to somewhere where the weather is a bit nicer than here.”
