Norwegian chess grandmaster quits tournament in dispute over jeans

Top-ranked chess player Magnus Carlsen has left the World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships after refusing to change out of the jeans he wore to the competition, the International Chess Federation said.

The federation said in a Friday statement that its regulations include a dress code that bars participants from wearing jeans at the event.

“The chief arbiter informed Mr. Carlsen of the breach, issued a $200 fine, and requested that he change his attire,” the federation said in the statement posted to its website. “Unfortunately, Mr. Carlsen declined, and as a result, he was not paired for round nine. This decision was made impartially and applies equally to all players.”

The 34-year-old Norwegian chess grandmaster said in a video from his Take Take Take chess app that he posted on the social platform X that he accepted a $200 fine. But he refused to change his pants before quitting the competition 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.”

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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.”