Chess grandmaster Magnus Carlsen quits tournament in dispute over jeans

NEW YORK– Highest ranked chess player Magnus Carlsen has quit the World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships after refusing to change the jeans he wore to the competition, the International Chess Federation said.

The federation said in a statement Friday that its regulations include a dress code that bans participants from wearing jeans during the event.

“The chief arbiter informed Mr. Carlsen of the violation, imposed a $200 fine and requested that he change his attire,” the federation said in the statement on its website. “Unfortunately, Mr. Carlsen declined and as a result he was not paired for round nine. This decision was made impartially and applies equally to all players.”

The 34-year-old Norwegian chess grandmaster said in a video from his Take Take Take chess app that he posted on the social platform X that he accepted a $200 fine. But he refused to change his pants before quitting the New York match.

“I said, ‘I’ll change tomorrow if that’s okay,'” Carlsen said in the video. “But they said, ‘Well, you have to change now.’ At that point it became a bit of a matter of principle for me.”

The federation said in its statement that the dress code is “designed to ensure professionalism and fairness for all participants.”

Fellow participant Ian Nepomniachtchi was also fined earlier Friday for violating the dress code by wearing sneakers.

“However, Mr. Nepomniachtchi complied, put on approved clothing and continued to play in the tournament,” the statement said. “These rules have been in place for years and are known to all participants and communicated to them prior to each event.”