Magnus Carlsen, the world’s top chess player, withdrew temporarily from the World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships due to a dispute over a dress code violation. The 34-year-old champion was asked to change his jeans, a dress code violation, but refused to do so. Following this, the International Chess Federation (FIDE) announced Carlsen’s return to the tournament, easing out the official dress code to accommodate what was labeled as “elegant minor deviations.”
Earlier, the Federation had stipulated that players shouldn’t wear t-shirts, jeans, shorts, sneakers, baseball caps or inappropriate attire. However, Carlsen was adamant about his jeans attire and had confirmed this in a post on his X account, saying he would “definitely” play in jeans the next day. He explained he had worn the jeans for a meeting prior and hadn’t had time to change before the tournament.
Carlsen, who was defending his title in the World Blitz Championship, initially declared he wouldn’t be returning to the tournament and was thinking about heading somewhere else. He conceded that the officials had every right to enforce the rules, but felt that withdrawing was his best reaction. His withdrawal followed a decision by FIDE officials not to pair him for round 9 of the World Rapid Championships. Russian grandmaster Volodar Murzin, 18, eventually won the championship, becoming the second youngest world rapid champion in history.
Requiring a certain dress code is not unusual in professional tournament settings, and FIDE maintains that its regulations, dress code included, ensure fairness and professionalism among participants. Players were permitted to wear dark-coloured pants, long-sleeved light-coloured shirts and jackets, which could be removed during play. Traditional or national dress could be worn only with FIDE’s approval.
Another dress code culprit at the same championship was Russian grandmaster Ian Nepomniachtchi, who was fined for wearing sports shoes. Unlike Carlsen, he changed to approved attire and continued the tournament. FIDE handled this situation by introducing more flexibility in interpreting the dress code for the World Blitz Championship to comfortably accommodate minor deviations.
Following “fruitful discussions” with FIDE president Arkady Dvorkovich, Carlsen decided to continue with the tournament. In his statement, Dvorkovich expressed regrets over the standoff with Carlsen, saying it emphasised the need to modernise rules to reflect the evolving nature of chess. He assured that any slight variations in the dress code that matched the attire would be tolerated in the spirit of festive season.
