How Magnus Carlsen’s jeans sparked a chess controversy

The world’s No 1 chess player Magnus Carlsen will return to the World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships in New York after initially withdrawing as he refused to change out of a pair of jeans.

The 34-year-old pulled out from the World Rapid Championship on Friday after breaching the dress code and opting not to change his attire.

However, the International Chess Federation (FIDE) announced on Sunday Carlsen would return for the World Blitz Championship. The organisation’s president Arkady Dvorkovich confirmed that while the official dress code would remain in place, it would be relaxed to accommodate “elegant minor deviations”.

A post on Carlsen’s X account read: “Oh, I am definitely playing in jeans tomorrow”.

“I am playing at least one more day here in New York and, if I do well, another day after that,” the Norwegian said, speaking to Take, Take, Take.

Why did Carlsen withdraw?

FIDE deemed Carlsen had broken the dress code for the World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships by wearing jeans on Friday.

He was initially fined $200 and asked to change but he refused to and was subsequently not paired for round 9 of the World Rapid Championships.

Carlsen claimed he had worn jeans for a meeting and “didn’t even think” about swapping into different trousers for the tournament. He said he offered to change for the following day but this was not accepted.

“I had a nice lunch meeting before I came here, I barely had time to go to the room and change so I just put on a shirt and jacket, I didn’t even think about the jeans — I even changed my shoes,” he told Take, Take, Take.

“I got a warning that I would not be paired if I did not change my clothes. They said I could do it after the third round today. I said I’ll change tomorrow if that’s OK. They said you have to change now. At that point, it became a bit of a matter of principle for me.”

Carlsen (Henry Nicholls/AFP via Getty Images)

He then said he did not intend to return to defend his title in the World Blitz Championship, which begins on Monday.

“I’ll probably head off somewhere where the weather is a bit nicer than here,” he added. “I don’t know what would have to change for that to happen, but no (I won’t be playing in the Blitz).”

Carlsen continued: “They can enforce their rules, that’s fine by me. My response is that’s fine, I’m out, f*** you.”

OOTD pic.twitter.com/9reOP6zuJv

— Magnus Carlsen (@MagnusCarlsen) December 28, 2024

Carlson was the defending rapid champion but had trailed the leaders at the time of his withdrawal.

Russian grandmaster Volodar Murzin, 18, ultimately won the tournament to become the second youngest world rapid champion in history.

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Why does chess have dress code regulations?

FIDE states its regulations for the tournament, including the dress code, “are designed to ensure professionalism and fairness for all participants”.

The FIDA regulations for the 2024 Rapid and Blitz Championships state: “No players with t-shirts, jeans, shorts, sneakers, baseball caps or inappropriate dress are allowed in the playing area. Any requests to wear national or traditional dress shall be approved by FIDE Supervisor.”

Players are permitted to wear: “Dark-coloured pants, long-sleeved light-coloured (white, light blue, beige, brown, etc.), blue or black shirt, in any case unicoloured. Dark-coloured jacket, waistcoat or cardigan with buttons: black, navy, grey, beige, brown, in any case unicoloured. Jacket, waistcoat or cardigan may be taken off during play. Tie is not mandatory.”

Participating players and FIDE staff, officials and representatives all have to adhere to the dress code policy.

A first infringement of the regulations results in a fine, with the sanctioned player permitted to play the current round, before a second infringement leads to not being included in a pairing for the following round.

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Did anyone else break the dress code regulations?

Russian grandmaster Ian Nepomniachtchi was also fined on Friday for a dress code breach after wearing sports shoes. However, he changed into “approved attire” and continued in the tournament.

How was the Carlsen situation resolved?

Carlsen said on Sunday “fruitful discussions” had taken place with FIDE president Dvorkovich.

“I love playing blitz,” he told Take, Take, Take. “I want to give the fans an opportunity to see this… For now, I’m here, and there have been, I think, some slight alterations to the rules. As a matter of principle, I’m definitely playing in jeans tomorrow.”

A statement from Dvorkovich read: “I sincerely regret that this situation escalated without a resolution being found by both sides in time to prevent Magnus’s withdrawal.”

He added that Carlsen’s concerns “highlight the need for further discussion about how to modernize the current approach, to ensure that our rules and their application reflect the evolving nature of chess”.

Dvorkovich explained a flexible approach to the dress code would be taken for the World Blitz Championships.

“I took the decision to trial an approach to provide more flexibility to FIDE officials in judgements regarding the suitability of the attire,” he continued. “Special assistants will be requested to help in those judgements and make final conclusions, shall any doubts arise.

“The principle is simple: it is still required to follow the official dress-code, but elegant minor deviations (that may, in particular, include appropriate jeans matching the jacket) are allowed. In the end, it is New Year time, and I sincerely hope that nobody would try to undermine the festive mood, including by abusing this additional flexibility.”