Chess World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen endured an ugly exit from the World Rapid Chess Championship in New York City, as he was disqualified by FIDE for not following the required dress code for the tournament. Carlsen had shown up in jeans, which was not part of the dress code, and after refusing to change immediately, Carlsen was disqualified for “repeated violations”. In an interview after the disqualification, Carlsen let his displeasure be known, even going on an expletive-filled rant regarding the rule and the principle.
In an interview with Take Take Take, Carlsen’s displeasure was quite evident.
“I had a good sleep, I had a nice lunch, but I barely had time to go to my room and change my clothes. I did not even change my shoes, honestly I did not even think about the jeans,” Carlsen said.
Carlsen stated that he had been asked to change after the third round, and was handed an initial USD 200 fine, but his request to change the next day had been denied. That’s when he was disqualified.
“At that point, it became a matter of principle for me,” Carlsen said.
“Honestly, I’m too old to care too much about this. It became a situation where both don’t want to back down, and that’s fine by me. I’ll head somewhere where the weather is nicer,” Carlsen said on the disqualification.
Following his disqualification from the rapid chess event, Carlsen also stated that he had forfeited the blitz round as well. It is important to note that Carlsen was the reigning champion for the event.
“My patience with them was not very high to begin with. It’s okay, they can enforce their rules. My response will be, ‘I’m out, (expletive)”, Carlsen concluded.
An official statement was given by FIDE following the event.
“Today, Mr. Magnus Carlsen breached the dress code by wearing jeans, which are explicitly prohibited under long-standing regulations for this event. The Chief Arbiter informed Mr. Carlsen of the breach, issued a $200 fine, and requested that he change his attire. Unfortunately, Mr. Carlsen declined, and as a result, he was not paired for Round 9. This decision was made impartially and applies equally to all players.”
