Norwegian chess grandmaster quits tournament over jeans dispute

The International Chess Federation said in a statement Friday that its regulations include a dress code that prohibits participants from wearing jeans at the event.

“The chief referee informed Mr. Carlsen of the violation, fined him 192 euros and asked him to change his clothing,” the federation said in a statement published on its website. “Unfortunately, Mr. Carlsen declined and, as a result, he was not matched for the ninth round. This decision was made impartially and applies equally to all players.

The 34-year-old Norwegian chess grandmaster said in a video from his chess app Take Take Take that he posted on social platform X that he had accepted a fine of 192 euros. But he refused to change his pants before leaving the competition in New York.

“I said, ‘I’ll change tomorrow if that’s okay with you,'” Carlsen said in the video. “But they said, ‘Well, you need to change now.’ At that point, it became 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.”

He said his colleague Ian Nepomniachtchi was also fined earlier Friday for violating the dress code by wearing sports shoes.

“However, Mr. Nepomniachtchi complied, donned approved attire 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 communicated to them before each event.”