Norwegian chess grandmaster Mangus Carlsen rejoins chess tournament following dress code controversy

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Sunday, December 29, 2024

On Monday, Magnus Carlsen rejoined the chess tournament.

Chess grandmaster Magnus Carlsen was quoted saying "[The International Chess Federation] can enforce their rules, that's fine by me, and my response is that fine, then I'm out, like, fuck you."
Image: Andreas Kontokanis.

On Friday, Norwegian chess grandmaster Magnus Carlsen quit the World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships that were being held in New York, after he was told to not wear jeans by the International Chess Federation, the governing body which oversaw international chess tournaments.

The 34-year-old chess grandmaster was fined USD$200 for failure to comply with dress code policy by showing up to a chess match wearing a blazer and jeans. According to him, he had attended a lunch meeting prior to arriving for the match, and "didn't even think about it."

The International Chess Federation claimed it had warned Carlsen of the violations and gave him the opportunity to change into attire that was deemed to be in adherence with its dress code, which it claims is "well-known to all participants and are communicated to them ahead of each event." Carlsen refused, and insisted he simply show up properly dressed the following day. In response, he was disqualified from participating in the match.

He recounted, "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 [...] But they said you have to change now. It became a matter of principle for me so here we are."

The chess federation defended its dress code saying the purpose of it is to "ensure "fairness and professionalism". Carlsen responded in an interview, saying "They can enforce their rules, that's fine by me, and my response is that fine, then I'm out, like, fuck you."

Carlsen, who became a chess grandmaster at age 13, won the World Rapid Championship five times, and won the World Blitz Championship seven times. This development made him ineligible to defend his title in either event.

He stated that he would not appeal the situation, saying "Honestly, I am too old at this point to care too much" adding that he planned to "probably head off to somewhere where the weather is bit nicer than here."

He reacted flippantly by posting a photo of himself posing in the jeans to X following his exit from the tournaments.

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