Chess champion Magnus Carlsen performed a tailor’s checkmate after returning to a recent tournament despite wearing an item of clothing banned by the dress code: jeans.
Top-ranked Carlsen, 34, officially returned to the World Blitz Championship on Monday, Dec. 30, after loosening the dress code — which previously resulted in a $200 fine and a ban from the later round of the second tournament, The Associated Press reported.
On Friday, December 27, the Norwegian grandmaster showed up at the World Quick Games Championship in jeans and a sports jacket. However, according to the chess federation, jeans are prohibited at these tournaments and participants are expected to change. However, according to the media, Carlsen refused and did not get a pair to play in the ninth round.
Magnus Carlsen in New York on December 27, 2024.
Misha Friedman/Getty
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In a statement released after the incident on Sunday, December 29, International Chess Federation President Arkady Dvorkovic said he would now allow World Blitz Championship officials to consider allowing “suitable jeans” with jackets and other “elegant minor deviations” from the dress code. code, reports AP.
World chess champion quits competition after refusing to change jeans, tells International Chess Federation ‘F— you’
Dvorkovich acknowledged that Carlsen’s rejection of the dress code highlighted the need for the organization to “ensure that our rules and their application reflect the evolving nature of chess as a global and accessible sport.”
Speaking in an interview for a chess app Take Take Take On December 28, Carlsen reflected on the incident, saying, “Of course, I could have changed. Obviously, I didn’t want to. I stand behind it.”
He then questioned whether a rule had been broken, claiming that changing his clothes would disrupt his concentration on the tournament, according to the publication. He further condemned the punishment for refusing to change jeans as “unbelievably harsh”.
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Carlsen previously explained that chess officials refused to budge even though they offered to wear something different the next day of the tournament.
Carlsen said he then decided to leave both the Rapid and Blitz championships because “it became a matter of principle.”
“Honestly, I’m too old to worry too much at this point. If this is what they [FIDE] you want to do … I guess it goes both ways, right? Nobody wants to step down, and here we are. That’s fine with me,” Carlsen said, adding that instead of leaving the tournament, “he’ll probably go somewhere with a little nicer weather than here.”
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education