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Top ranking chess player Magnus Carlsen has left the World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships after he refused to change out of the jeans he wore for the competition, the International Chess Federation said.
The federation said in a statement Friday that its regulations include a dress code that prevents participants from wearing jeans at the event.
“The head referee informed Mr Carlsen of the infringement, issued a fine of $200 and asked him to change his clothes,” the federation said in the statement posted on its website. “Unfortunately, Mr. Carlsen refused, 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 social platform X that he accepted a $200 fine. But he refused to change his pants before stopping the competition in New York.
“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 moment 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.”
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It said fellow contestant Ian Nepomniachtchi was also fined earlier Friday for breaking the dress code by wearing sports shoes.
“Nevertheless, Mr. Nepomniachtchi complied, changed into approved clothing, and continued to play in the tournament,” the statement said. “These rules have been in place for years and are well known to all participants and are communicated to them prior to each event.”
& copy 2024 The Canadian Press
