World number one chess player Magnus Carlsen has withdrawn from a major tournament after being told he cannot wear jeans.
The chess grandmaster was defending his title at the Fido World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championship in New York when the incident occurred.
Officials said Carlsen, 34, was wearing jeans, in violation of the dress code, and asked him to change, but the 34-year-old refused.
Governing body Fide announced that the reigning champion had been fined $200 (£159).
Carlsen, the world champion from 2013 to 2023, said he had a lunch meeting before the round and needed to change quickly.
“I put on a shirt and a jacket, but honestly I didn’t even think about jeans, and I even changed my shoes,” he told Take Take Take.
“I didn’t even think about it…First of all, I was fined, but that’s fine. Then I was warned that if I don’t go change, I won’t be paired up. Maybe after today’s third round, I can do it.
“I said, “If that’s okay, I’ll change it tomorrow, I didn’t notice it today,” and they said, “Well, you have to change it now.” At that point, it was me. It became a bit of a matter of principle.” ”
The world number one said he would not appeal the decision, adding: “Honestly, I’m too old to care too much at this point.
“If this is what they want to do…I think it’s going to go both ways, right? No one wants to back down – and this is where we are. I’m okay with that. I think it’s probably going to go both ways. I’ll go somewhere nicer than here.” ”
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Later, in a tongue-in-cheek post to X, Carlsen shared a photo of the jeans and jacket combo and wrote, “OOTD” (outfit of the day).
Fide said in a statement that the rules were applied “fairly”, citing another case in which a player was fined before changing shoes.
Carlsen, a five-time world chess champion, has previously been embroiled in a feud with rival Hans Niemann.
The Norwegian had accused Niemann of cheating after losing the 2022 tournament, but Niemann denied the allegations and said he would “get naked” to prove his innocence. Ta.
The pair settled their lawsuit for $100m (£79m) in August last year.
