Magnus Carlsen exits chess tournament over wardrobe rules

World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen Withdraws from World Rapid Chess Championship

Magnus Carlsen, the reigning World No. 1 in chess, made headlines on Friday when he decided to withdraw from the World Rapid Chess Championship. The reason behind his abrupt exit? He refused to change out of the jeans he was wearing, a violation of the tournament’s dress code as stated by the International Chess Federation (FIDE).

Carlsen, known for his impressive record of five world rapid and seven world blitz titles in the last decade, also opted out of the World Blitz Championship that was scheduled to follow the rapid tournament.

FIDE issued a statement explaining that Carlsen had breached the dress code by wearing jeans and then declined to change into the appropriate attire after being requested to do so by the Chief Arbiter. As a result, he was fined US$200 and would not have been paired for round nine. However, Carlsen decided to walk away from the tournament altogether, despite the possibility of returning for the remaining rounds.

It was noted that Carlsen’s performance in the earlier rounds had been subpar, making it unlikely for him to successfully defend his title regardless of the dress code incident.

In a statement, FIDE emphasized that the decision was made impartially and applied equally to all players. They also mentioned another player, Ian Nepominatchi, who had also breached the dress code by wearing sports shoes but chose to continue playing after changing into appropriate attire.

Carlsen later expressed that the standoff had become a matter of principle for him. He mentioned that he had been rushing from a lunch meeting to the tournament and had not realized the dress code violation until he received the fine and warning.

The strained relationship between Carlsen and FIDE was brought to light during this incident, with Carlsen accusing the organization of actively discouraging players from participating in the Freestyle Chess tournament, which he promotes. FIDE’s CEO, Emil Sutovsky, refuted these claims, stating that FIDE’s role is to approve and regulate all official World Championship events in chess.

Despite the controversy surrounding his exit from the World Rapid Chess Championship, Magnus Carlsen remains a dominant force in the world of chess, and his future participation in FIDE-sanctioned events will be eagerly anticipated by fans and players alike.