Chess: Grand Master and Jeans!
By Prof Dr Ian Blackshaw
The five-times World Chess Champion, 34-year-old Norwegian Magnus Carlsen, has withdrawn, on 27 January 2024, as a matter of principle, from a tournament in New York, USA, after being told to change his jeans for other trousers.
He was defending his titles at the World Rapid and Blitz Championships and offered to change the next day. However, he was told to change immediately and fined US$200.
The Chess Federation stated that its dress code regulations were designed to:
“ensure fairness and professionalism for all participants.”
And added that another chess player was also fined on the same day for wearing the wrong kind of shoes!
Carlsen has stated that he does not intend to appeal the ruling and the fine.
I thought that chess was played with one’s brains and not with one’s trousers or shoes and, what either has to do with fairness, I fail to see. In any case, jeans are nowadays the international uniform!
Prof Dr Ian Blackshaw may be contacted by e-mail at ‘
