World No. 1 chess player Magnus Carlsen withdrew from the World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships in New York after a dress code dispute.
Carlsen was wearing jeans, which violated the International Chess Federation (FIDE) dress code. He was asked to change his attire.
FIDE officials fined Carlsen $200 (192 euros) after he refused to change his jeans.
FIDE released a statement explaining that their dress code rules are in place to maintain professionalism and fairness for all participants.
They cited a previous instance where another competitor was fined for wearing sports shoes. That competitor was permitted to continue playing after changing into acceptable footwear.
Carlsen, a 34-year-old Norwegian, is a five-time world chess champion. He currently holds the title in both rapid and blitz chess formats.
“I put on a shirt, jacket and honestly like I didn’t even think about jeans, even changed my shoes,” he reasoned later.
Carlsen explained his perspective on the situation in an interview with the chess channel Take Take Take. He stated that he hadn’t even considered the jeans to be an issue. He had even changed his shoes.
“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.”
He received a fine and a warning that he wouldn’t be paired for the next round if he didn’t change his clothes. Tournament officials indicated he could change after the third round.
“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.”
Carlsen confirmed he would not appeal the decision. “Honestly, I am too old at this point to care too much.”
He stated he is too old to be overly concerned about the situation. “Nobody wants to back down… I’ll probably head off to somewhere where the weather is a bit nicer than here.”
