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Classic Games (Games)

Magnus Carlsen Quits Chess Tournament After Refusing to Change Out of Jeans (cnn.com) 178

Posted by EditorDavid from the check-mate dept.
Magnus Carlsen quit the World Rapid Chess Championship on Friday, reports CNN, "after he refused to change out of the jeans he was wearing..."

"Carlsen, the world champion from 2013 until 2023, allegedly replied, 'I'm out, f*** you,' after being informed that he would not be permitted to continue," reports the Hindustan Times.

The International Chess Federation (or FIDE) "said in a statement that Carlsen breached the tournament's dress code by wearing jeans," reports CNN: As a result, Carlsen would not have been paired for round nine, though he could have returned for the rest of the tournament had he not decided to walk away, per Chess.com. Since he had performed poorly in the earlier rounds, there was little chance that Carlsen could have defended his title regardless....

The standoff became "a matter of principle" for Carlsen, he told chess channel Take Take Take. "I haven't appealed, honestly I'm too old at this point to care too much, if this is what they want to do ... nobody wants to back down, if this is where we are, that's fine by me," he said. "I'll probably head off to somewhere where the weather is a bit nicer than here and that's it." He explained that he had been at a lunch meeting before heading to the tournament's second day and "barely had time to go the room, change, put on a shirt, jacket and honestly I didn't even think about the jeans."
Carlsen was also fined $200, according to the article. He has now also withdrawn from the World Blitz Championship which follows this tournament.

In a statement, the FIDE said their dress code and other regulations "are designed to ensure professionalism and fairness for all participants," and that the federation "remains committed to promoting chess and its values, including respect for the rules that all participants agree to follow."

The group's CEO added "Rules are applicable to all the participants, and it would be unfair towards all players who respected the dress-code, and those who were previously fined." (They added that "We gave Magnus more than enough time to change. But as he had stated himself in his interview — it became a matter of principle for him.")

CNN notes that Carlsen has already won five world rapid and seven world blitz titles in the last 10 years...

Magnus Carlsen Quits Chess Tournament After Refusing to Change Out of Jeans More | Reply

Magnus Carlsen Quits Chess Tournament After Refusing to Change Out of Jeans

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  • I guess he now has a future (Score:4, Funny)

    by know-nothing cunt ( 6546228 ) on Saturday December 28, 2024 @02:38PM (#65045707)

    doing Levi's commercials.

  • Is there some special dress code (Score:3)

    by rossdee ( 243626 ) on Saturday December 28, 2024 @02:43PM (#65045727)

    for playing chess?

    • Re:Is there some special dress code (Score:4, Insightful)

      by bjoast ( 1310293 ) on Saturday December 28, 2024 @03:09PM (#65045781)
      No, but there is at this tournament. He could have showed some respect by apologizing for obviously not being aware of the rules, but instead he decided to act like a child.

      • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

        by ClickOnThis ( 137803 )

        I'm puzzled why posts like yours are being modded down here. It appears someone with mod points has it in for dress codes.

        Many events or venues have dress codes: restaurants, soirees, weddings, offices, concert halls (at least for the orchestra.) And these dress codes exist primarily to convey a certain atmosphere of respectability that fits the setting. Whoever controls the event or venue controls how it is displayed to its participants.

        These tournament-organizers want to convey such an atmosphere at their

        • Is he allowed to be respectable without conforming to their weird definitions?

        • Curious that such outmoded thinking still exists. You can be an illogical axe murderer or a ceo of a company screwing people out of the healthcare they need and have paid for but the wearing of certain clothes makes all of that go away.

          Conversely you might be the most moral person on earth, a source of inspiration for millions but wear the wrong clothing and you will feel the consequences separated from the axe murderer and ceo by their ability to pander to this nonsense.

          Something tells me you're doing it w

          • To summarize your post, you're saying that the way a person dresses is not an accurate indication of their character.

            Yeah, but so what? The story is not about that. It's about a dress code that Magnus Carlsen did not abide.

            Per TFS, FIDE itself said the dress code and other rules "are designed to ensure professionalism and fairness for all participants". They want a serious atmosphere at their tournament. You may disagree with whether a dress code achieves that, but it is what FIDE wants and it is their tour

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by Bert64 ( 520050 )

          And there was a big fuss a few years back over a chess tournament held in Saudi Arabia, where participants were required to dress a certain way.

          So why is it that demanding people dress a specific way is somehow ok when it's a completely arbitrary rule made for a chess tournament, but somehow it's not ok when it's a national law based on hundreds of years of religious teachings?

      • The idea that he wasn't aware of the rules, or that he didn't know what we was doing, is laughable.
        Like he plays chess, he's thought through the possibilities and has a strategy and aims.

        • The idea that he wasn't aware of the rules, or that he didn't know what we was doing, is laughable.
          Like he plays chess, he's thought through the possibilities and has a strategy and aims.

          I'm sure he knew what the dress code was. He just didn't care. Or, he just needed an excuse to leave a competition he wasn't winning.

      • The dress code is arbitrary and dumb. Jeans are forbidden but khaki pants that look like jeans are acceptable.

      • 1) He forgot and wore jeans. Still looked good (no rips, etc).
        2) The arbiter fined him $200 and asked him to change clothes.
        3) He accepted the fine, but asked to be able to play his final game of the day in the same clothes.
        4) They said no.
        5) He said, Ok, I'm not playing.

        They were overly strict, he was over-reactive. Both are in the wrong here.

    • for playing chess?

      Yes. I came across this article [nytimes.com] from last year where a female player was told to change out of her plaid, canvas Burberry sneakers with white rubber soles. The article says:

      The first rule of FIDE’s dress code for the tournament is “dress to impress,” the federation’s website states. The dress code is supposed to promote a “good and positive image of chess” and “shall be strictly enforced,” according to the website.

      Generally, sneakers are allowed, but “sports sneakers” are not. The difference between the two is not clearly stated in the dress code.

      For women in particular, the following is not allowed: “sport’s sneakers, clacking shoes, any kind of jeans, any kind of inappropriate cloth (e.g. torn cloth or cloth with holes, unclean cloth), sport caps, sun glasses, revealing attire.”

      The rules for men are similar. “Sports sneakers, T-shirts, any kind of jeans, any kind of inappropriate cloth (e.g. torn cloth or cloth with holes, unclean cloth), sport caps, sun glasses” are not accepted.

      Note the bolded part in the last paragraph. This would be the rule Carlsen violated and, unlike the female player, chose not to change. I haven't found the specific dress code policy, but this [fide.com] says the rules take effect after July of 2022. Under 11.5.3 it states jeans are not allowed at tournaments.

      However, this article [thesportsgrail.com] about Carlsen

    • for playing chess?

      After extensive research watching the first part of From Russia With Love [imdb.com], I conclude the chess dress code requires men to wear a suit, tie, and to smoke cigarettes. Eyeglasses are strongly encouraged, but not required.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Alinabi ( 464689 )
      Yes. For FIDE endorsed tournaments and matches where the world title is in play, as well as the qualifying tournaments for these events, you have to wear a suit. It is really stupid, and Magnus Carlsen is best situated to take a stand against it. They want him there more than he wants to be there, since he has nothing left to prove, but he still is the strongest player in the world by a mile.

  • Hope the best for him (Score:5, Insightful)

    by SlashTex ( 10502574 ) on Saturday December 28, 2024 @02:44PM (#65045729)
    Love Magnus, but... He seems tired of the game; for instance he would rather play variations like random assignment of back-row pieces.

    He knows the dress rules, and he apparently got some slack the previous day.

    Maybe a break is just what he needs. No disrespect to his talent.

  • Chess Needs No Dress Code (Score:3, Insightful)

    by XopherMV ( 575514 ) on Saturday December 28, 2024 @02:51PM (#65045745) Journal
    Chess is a game. It's participants are players, not employees. This idea that players need to dress up in jacket and slacks in order to play a game is outright ridiculous. This should be a wake-up call to FIDE. It's requirements are stupid and needless. The problem is that the sort of people who implement these codes of conduct rarely question themselves or change their opinion. FIDE is likely to learn nothing.

    • Chess is a game. It's participants are players, not employees. This idea that players need to dress up in jacket and slacks in order to play a game is outright ridiculous. This should be a wake-up call to FIDE. It's requirements are stupid and needless. The problem is that the sort of people who implement these codes of conduct rarely question themselves or change their opinion. FIDE is likely to learn nothing.

      Naked chess it is then.

      (YouChess PPV Championships 2027 Commercial Ad) ”Wanna really put a fuckin’ on your player in the OTB position? Use Magnus-scented Magnum condoms. Sponsored by the OnlyFans channel Twitch wishes it had; Ch-A$$ TeeVee.”

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by mattr ( 78516 )

      Perhaps. I have no skin in the game. But I do note that shogi (Japanese chess) while having no formal dress code generally everyone wears yukata / kimono i.e. traditional dress. There seems to be a kind of fashion associated with igo (Japanese checkers, where Othello came from). And there are apparently dress codes for some other sports like PGA and billiards championships (non-athletic wear, slacks I think). So it depends on the sport. It is not surprising, though probably irrelevant to the play, that a ch

    • It's a FIDE event, which meants the game is being played a sporting event, and all sports have their uniform. If someone from the Philadelphia Eagles shows up and tries to play while wearing a coat and tie, that player will be told to either wear a proper uniform or be ejected from the game.

      Also... he joined their organization... they didn't join him. If he wants to wear jeans to to a competition, he can start his own club, with blackjack, and hookers.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by pjt33 ( 739471 )

        all sports have their uniform.

        My grandad tells an amusing story about this in his army memoir. He was selected for officer training towards the end of WWII, commissioned on New Year's Day 1946, and sent to the British Army of Occupation on the Rhine. As an acting captain, one of his duties was to spend one week of each month hearing courts martial.

        The case he relates involved a company sergeant major (CSM) charged with being improperly dressed. The prosecuting officer said that the CSM had been seen chasing

    • Yeah so if someone goes in with a fluorescent Hawaiian shirt and clown hair .. that's not going to be distracting? Dress codes exist for a reason.It's not just about finding the best chess player but also doing so in a fair manner.

    • Chess is a game. It's participants are players, not employees. This idea that players need to dress up in jacket and slacks in order to play a game is outright ridiculous.

      Sports are games too, many have dress codes. It's a matter of professional respect, not player safety equipment.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Bert64 ( 520050 )

        Only they are not specifying a uniform, they are just excluding certain forms of dress which they have an arbitrary disliking for.
        About the only exclusion that seems remotely sensible is "clacking shoes" as the noise would be distracting.

        Sports with a uniform are generally team sports, and the uniform exists to make it easier to identify members of the same team. Many sports also require free and easy movement of the limbs, or additional traction on the playing surface so the attire worn by players reflects

        • Only they are not specifying a uniform, they are just excluding certain forms of dress which they have an arbitrary disliking for.

          There are many sports which do that too. E.g. Golf.

    • Re:Chess Needs No Dress Code (Score:5, Informative)

      by Gavino ( 560149 ) on Saturday December 28, 2024 @08:32PM (#65046559)
      Wimbledon has a dress code of all white and clowns complain about it every year. But then look at how respectful a tournament Wimbledon is compared to the circus that is the US Open, that doesn't have anywhere near the same level of professionalism in the dress code.

      You drop dress standards, and then behavioral standards are sure to follow. This really is an argument between the young and naive (hating on dress codes) and the old and wise (who see the value in dress codes).

    • "the sort of people who implement these codes of conduct rarely question themselves"

      Magnus Carlsen, if he actually had a principle that was affected, could have questioned it and any time *and yet he didn't*. He merely flouted it.

      "FIDE is likely to learn nothing."
      Magnus Carlsen is likely to learn nothing.

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by jma05 ( 897351 )

      Whether it is stupid and needless is something that needs to be sorted out before the tournament. Once the rules are in place, it is disrespectful to other players to make exceptions to one player because he is a star.

  • He and chess.com spent the next weeks spreading rumors that the FIDE was cheating.
  • This dress code is ludicrous. Players will play their best when they are comfortable. FIDE should be interested in the best chess, not in some idiotic idea of professional dress.

  • Lycra is the solution (Score:3)

    by Pig Hogger ( 10379 ) <.moc.liamg. .ta. .reggoh.gip.> on Saturday December 28, 2024 @03:06PM (#65045777) Journal
    After reading theit dress code, it doesn’t mention Lycra, so I would have put flashy lycra like when I go biking.
  • Was it crotchless jeans or something equally bizarre? I could understand asking him to change pants if his ass was hanging out, but asking him to change out of regular jeans?
    • He had a jacket, button-down shirt, nice jeans (no holes) and polished shoes. The outfit looked stylish in a European way.
  • He "quit" after being informed that he would not be permitted to continue. Words have meanings.

    • He "quit" after being informed that he would not be permitted to continue. Words have meanings.

      He was told he would not be permitted to continue dressed as he was. He chose to quit instead of change his clothes.

      Yes, words have meanings. And the manner in which you display them can change the meaning, as you demonstrated.

  • As a result, Carlsen would not have been paired for round nine, though he could have returned for the rest of the tournament had he not decided to walk away, per Chess.com. Since he had performed poorly in the earlier rounds, there was little chance that Carlsen could have defended his title regardless....

    He had started badly, 2 1/2 points out of 5 on the first day.
    This happened on the second day, I'm not sure how his first game went but then he was told to change - I'm also not sure how long it would have

    • Seems he's so overloaded that he can't even pay attention to his clothing let alone win anything so it was a nice opportunity to bow out.

  • Karjakin (Score:2, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward
    FIDE is a Russian sychophant. They proudly support Karjakin despite his constant propaganda for the Russian military, and yet they worry about Carlsen's pants. Russia has twice been convicted for breaching the FIDE ethics rules, and yet FIDE does nothing. Russia is using chess in occupied Ukrainian territories to change the national identity of Ukrainian kids, who might in the future be forced to fight against their own country, and yet FIDE says nothing.

    But Carlsen is wearing the wrong pants.

    • They proudly support Karjakin despite his constant propaganda for the Russian military

      Just curious, how many times has Karjakin wore Russian military propaganda to a FIDE event?

  • Build a chess robot that wears jeans.

  • Although I thought that was basically a myth?

  • Professionalism, maybe, although that sounds more like something served through behavior. But fairness? Exactly how is that served by a dress code?

    I suppose a contestant with an OF side hustle might get an unfair advantage by wearing something wildly inappropriate, but jeans?

    The governing body has the right to insist on this. I just object to the rationale. "We are stuffy and would prefer to keep it that way" would be more defensible.

  • Gets between Magnus and his Calvins.

  • Wore jeans to a black tie event our college held euth him as the guest of hinr when the Mac was first released.

    He was the only one to ignore the dress code. Of course, what was anyone else to object?

  • Dress-up play for gentlemen (Score:3)

    by zephvark ( 1812804 ) on Saturday December 28, 2024 @08:56PM (#65046605)

    Apparently, the important thing in a chess competition is not playing chess. It's being dressed up for photographers.

    At this point, they've lost all credibility when they pretend to be serious.

    • Hardly. Most games / sports have either a uniform or a dress code. Some even on a club level to say nothing of professional tournaments which are often far stricter. Chess isn't special in this regard.

      The only one losing credibility is a man-child who doesn't want to abide by a very simple tournament rule. It shows a lack of professionalism - which is one of the things dress codes help promote, despite the fact that you don't like it when someone imposes rules on you.

  • That a cheating device in your 501's (Score:3)

    by Tablizer ( 95088 ) on Saturday December 28, 2024 @10:16PM (#65046729) Journal

    ...or are you just happy to see me?

  • are weird as fuck.

    "It's about and/or ensures professionalism"
    No, it fucking doesn't. There has been plenty of unprofessional conduct in chess while dressed up all nice.

    "It's about respect"
    No, it's not. There is no valid argument for that.

    "Unfair to the previous people fined"
    Then give the money back to them.

    I understand a dress code forbidding things like offensive language or whatever, especially if event is being broadcast. But jeans? They're pants. They're covering everything they need to. Show up in carg

  • . . . has everything to do with chess?

    What stupid fucking rules.

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