Magnus Carlsen, Norwegian chess grandmaster, five-time World Chess Champion (as well five-time World Rapid Chess Champion and seven-time World Blitz Chess Champion) was expelled last Friday from the 2024 FIDE World Blitz Championship in New York for an absurd reason: he violated the dress code... by wearing jeans.
Looking more closely the rules, Carlsen wasn't even violating the code, as it only forbides wearing broken jeans. But International Chess Federation (FIDE according to French initials) was rigid: he was first fined with 200 dollars and was given an ultimatum. Carlsen lost patience, refusing to change clothes, thus being eliminated.
He later went on to say that he was "at full war with FIDE" and was about to "book my flight ticket out of here", but his father advised him against. Carlsen later said he has good relationships with some people at FIDE, including the president Arkady Dvorkovich, and a new agreement was reached.
"It is unfortunate that the implementation of dress-code rules, while being legally sound and consistent, has left some feeling this is disproportionate and caused the situation everyone would have preferred to avoid, including some of the words being said at the peak of emotions that one would most probably regret afterwards.", Dvorkovich said in a statement posted on X.
"I took the decision to trial an approach to provide more flexibility to FIDE officials in judgements regarding the suitability of the attire", meaning Carlsen will remain in the New York tournament and "will definitively wear jeans", he joked on X.
