Grandmaster Magnus Carlsen has chosen denim over chess. The world chess number one player, who earned his grandmaster title at the age of 13, walked away from a tournament after being asked to change out of his jeans, with officials citing a violation of its official dress code, which prohibits jeans.
The five-time World Chess Champion was playing on Friday and defending his titles at the FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships in New York, the short form versions of the game when he was given an ultimatum by The International Chess Federation (FIDE).
While wearing a blue button-down with skinny jeans and dress shoes, Carlsen was fined $200 and told that he wouldn’t be able to continue in the tournament unless he swapped his pants for ones that adhered to the dress code “designed to ensure professionalism and fairness for all participants,” according to a statement from FIDE.
Brewington Hardaway plays Magnus Carlsen at FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Championship on December 26, 2024 in New York City.
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Carlsen decided against changing, calling his decision to walk away from the tournament “a matter of principle.” He later explained in an interview with Take Take Take that he “didn’t even think about the jeans” when he got dressed quickly before the tournament, following a “nice lunch meeting.”
“Obviously this has not been the best tournament for me,” he said. “I had a nice lunch meeting before I came here and I just barely had time to go to [my] room [to] change, so I put on a shirt, a jacket, and honestly I didn’t even think about the jeans. I even changed my shoes. I didn’t even think about it.”
Carlsen told officials he would “change tomorrow if that’s okay,” but FIDE opted to stand by its dress code regulations. “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… after the third round today,” Carlsen later recalled. “I said, ‘I’ll change tomorrow if that’s okay. I didn’t even realize it today.’ But they said, ‘Well, you have to change now.’ At that point it became a bit of a matter of principle for me. So here we are.”
In its statement, FIDE shared that another player, Ian Nepomniachtchi, was also asked to change on Friday — but he complied with the dress code, changing his “sports shoes” into “approved attire,” and therefore “continued to play in the tournament.”
“The dress code regulations are drafted by members of the FIDE Athletes Commission, which is composed of professional players and experts,” FIDE’s statement read. “These rules have been put in place for years and are well-known to all participants and are communicated to them ahead of each event. FIDE has also ensured that the players’ accommodation is within a short walking distance from the playing venue, making adherence to the rules more convenient.”
Carlsen shared that he does not play to appeal FIDE’s decision. “Honestly, I’m too old at this point to care too much,” he said. “I guess it goes both ways — nobody wants to back down and this is where we are. It’s fine by me. I’ll probably head off to somewhere where the weather is a bit nicer than here.”
According to the FIDE’s official dress code, the rules prohibit male players from wearing: Beach-wear slips, profanity and nude or semi-nude pictures printed on shirts, torn pants or jeans. Holes, denim shorts, short-shorts, cut-off shorts, gym shorts, unclean clothing, sun glasses, sport caps.
