Magnus Carlsen, number 1 in the world, abandoned the World Rapid Chess Championship on Friday (27) after refusing to change the jeans he was wearing, according to the International Chess Federation (FIDE). Carlsen, who has won five world rapid chess titles and seven world blitz titles in the last 10 years, also withdrew from the World Blitz Championship that follows the tournament.
FIDE said in a statement that he violated the tournament’s dress code by wearing jeans, and then refused to change his clothes after the Chief Referee’s request, and was fined 200 dollars (R$1,200).
As a result, he would not be paired for the ninth round, although he could have returned for the rest of the tournament had he not decided to abandon it, according to Chess.com. As his performance in the previous rounds had been poor, there was little chance of Carlsen defending his title in any way.
“This decision was taken impartially and applies equally to all players,” FIDE said, adding that fellow competitor Ian Nepominatchi also violated the dress code by wearing sports shoes, but continued playing after changing his shoes.
The impasse became “a matter of principle” for Carlsen, as he told chess channel Take Take Take.
“I didn’t appeal, honestly I’m too old to care that much, if that’s what they want to do… no one wants to give in, if that’s the way we are, that’s fine with me. I’ll probably leave somewhere where the weather is a little better than here and that’s it,” he said.
Number 1 explained that he was at a lunch meeting before heading to the second day of the tournament and “barely had time to go to his room, change his clothes, put on a shirt and jacket.”
“Honestly, I didn’t even think about jeans. I arrived here and I don’t know if it was after the first or second game… I received a fine, okay, and then I received a warning that I wouldn’t be paired if I didn’t change my clothes”, he declared.
Rifles between Carlsen and Federation
Relations between Carlsen, chess’ most famous player, and FIDE, the sport’s governing body, have become more tense recently.
Carlsen said that his “patience with (FIDE) was no longer very great”, accusing the organization of “actively persecuting players so that they do not sign with Freestyle (Chess)”, a tournament where the pieces in the back row start in a random position and which Carlsen promotes.
FIDE CEO Emil Sutovsky responded with a statement on social platform X, calling this claim a “lie.”
“We are happy to cooperate (as we cooperate with the Grand Chess Tour, for example), to align calendars, etc… The only thing we insist on is that no Series or Tour can be called a World Championship unless FIDE approves it. FIDE is the governing body for chess, and any World Championship must be conducted or approved by FIDE.”
