Carlsen quits World Rapid and Blitz championship after dress code disagreement
chess.com
chess.com
There have been tensions between the FIDE organization and top players like Carlsen since the latter have been promoting an alternative chess organization around Freestyle chess (aka Chesss960), which has slightly different rules.
I.e. this is less about "dress code enforcement" and it is more about "Carlsen is fed up with the FIDE organization in general".
We will see how other players react today. Will they wear jeans in protest?
I agree that rules against jeans make limited sense. It makes more sense to forbid worn down or shabby looking attire. But one should abide by the rules one signs up to.
If it's the only competition in town, and the rules are unjust, and the organisation in question considers you #1 chess player in the world… I can hardly imagine better circumstances for civil disobedience.
One of the biggest examples of this was in his title defense against Caruana. Every game of that match had been drawn, and in the final game Magnus had a very promising position where he could squeeze with basically no risk.
Instead he offered a draw which was immediately accepted. That sent the game to rapid tie breaks where he casually butchered Caruana 3-0.
And no great player is bad at any time control - they're just 'less good'. Except Magnus - since he's #1 at everything he's just more or less dominant.
Or is it a comparative grey matter evaluation in time and pressure constraints?
you provide an example, but the luck is in guessing what the opponent would check or not check.
a clearer example is trying to play out of your opponent's prep. you dont know what lines theyve prepared, and youre taking a gamble with each move on whether theyve prepped it or not. they cant prep every possible line in the available time, regardless of how long (ding wasnt prepared for most of gukesh's attacks, with months to prepare)
theres also luck in that your opponent may not have slept well the night before because a car alarm went off at 2AM, so their comparative grey matter evaluation in time was lower than usual, or they just played a tiring long game where they lost, right before this game.
During Kasparov's era sentiment was similar and ultimately an entirely new players' association with their own world championship cycle was created. In the end they reunified with FIDE, but we're back on the trajectory for something like that to happen again.
I would wager alot that chess.com is strategizing behind the scenes about ways to become that replacement.
I think there'd be material there for an investigative journalist (if such a thing still exists to get out the old whiteboard and start figuring out connections and trying to piece together what might be going on behind the scenes. In any case, there's a lot of money involved.
But if you are going to bother signing up, is 'jeans' really the hill to die on?
If the beef is with the organization, just boycott altogether.
Otherwise, just put on some pants.
EDIT:
Perhaps the downvotes are because of disagreement with methods of protest?
What brings greater attention to your cause?
1. A boycott, you just don't go to the event? And make a press statement about it, that probably doesn't get any headlines.
or
2. Sign up, go, then angrily get disqualified, based on some stupid rule, which gets a lot of headlines, and attention focused on silly rules of the organization?
Guess, if the goal was to effect change, then maybe this was the correct move. But if it was just being pissi, then why bother signing up, you know the rules, so just don't go.
I agree. This isn't high school rebellion. Is the real world.
Adults dress appropriately for different places and different times. You can be denied admission to a restaurant, a business, an office meeting, or even a concert for not dressing appropriately. This is no different.
Grow up and put on some pants. Be sloppy in your own home.
It's also about showing respect to the host, you dress nicely. Would you wear jeans to church or to a wedding?
Japes abounded and some of the more conservative family members were giving severe side-eye, but at no point was it suggested that he be sent home. He showed up in jeans (offense), we gave him a lot of ribbing that he took in good stride (punishment).
The appropriate response to offenses like this doesn't have to be banishment.
Where I'm from, this is normal. There are even theological cases to be made against dress codes in church, beyond "don't show up naked" and similar basics.
If your "host" has unreasonable expectations, then it is on some level unreasonable to follow them.
Everyone is arguing about 'jean's not being a big deal. And, all dress codes are wrong. So, can a female player wear a bikini? By the arguments here, then yes, that should be allowed. Would it interfere with game play? I think yes.
Can someone wear a bright orange Sarang with blinking lights?
How do you draw the line? Doesn't there need to be a line somewhere so there isn't chaos? It's just that todays generation now thinks 'jeans' are ok. 20 years ago they were not.
> It's just that todays generation now thinks 'jeans' are ok.
'jeans' literally are 'pants' though. If a dress code specifies pants, jeans are fine, unless they specifically exclude jeans as a type of pants.
This is completely not True.
Either
1. You know it is not true, and are just trolling.
or
2. You do believe this, and have just redefined these words to fit a particular world view. Which I guess can happen. If this generation has re-defined the words 'jeans' and 'pants', then guess, I can't argue against how people re-define words. Just goes to how the world is being divided by re-defining entire vocabularies.
A companies dress code will generally exclude jeans if they are not acceptable.
I haven't redefined anything.
You are correct. Looked it up, and Jeans are sub-category of Pants. Though, I live in the US and have never had someone refer to jeans as pants. It seems a technical definition that I've never seen used that way. I know arguing with HR they did not see it that way.
Perhaps HR really meant 'slacks'. as in Dressy Pants.
Really, I had to look it up. I had always thought of 'pants' as 'dress pants'. So to have such a broad category of 'pants' seemed like an older technical definition I've never seen used commonly.
But, if you saw in other posts. For the Chess rules. There was another section of the rules that specified 'no jeans'. So for the current controversy, it didn't specifically hinge on this definition of 'pants'.
Discretion should be a thing.
This being a thing at all certainly proves Magnus’ point. Its not 1970.
He wasn't trying to protest the dress code or make a scene, it wasn't on his mind at all. He had been out for an appearance with a sponsor during a break, then came back to the venue for the next round, and didn't notice that he was wearing jeans and it didn't cross his mind that that would be a violation.
Then he was told to change, and there wasn't enough time for him to go do that before the upcoming round. He thought he was told he could do it either after that round or for the next day, but then was told he would be excluded from that round, and at that point he said f--- it and withdrew entirely.
The controversy was about exactly how the penalty is imposed. The rule is a fine for the first violation and disqualification for multiple. It wasn't clear if his appearance for the day would count as one violation (so he could just incur the fine and wear correct clothing tomorrow), or if each round would be a separate violation. It also wasn't clear if he could play while in violation or would be excluded from each round until he changed. Precedent from other events wasn't clear for either of these.
The headline of "disqualified" is wrong and did not happen - he chose to withdraw.
I am not sure knowing the rule but really have jean ... it is crazy rule in any case.
I'm not saying I agree with the rule or the specific way it was applied... But Magnus definitely knows the rules.
Edit: for people downvoting... Can you please explain how the world's best chess player of all times wouldn't be familiar with FIDE rules? How is that even plausible? All of the players who compete at these events know the rules.
Magnus pants were fine. He is absolutely correct that they were singling him out and you can look back to many recent tournaments to see the clear double standard.
4.10.1. The dress code is strictly observed for the
tournament and all the official events and press
conferences.
4.10.1.1. Dress code for men.
Shoes: Oxfords, loafers, leather shoes or boots, classic
suite shoes.
Dark-coloured pants: black, navy, grey, beige, brown, in
any case unicoloured. No bright colours.
Long-sleeved light-coloured (white, light blue, beige,
brown, etc.), blue or black shirt, in any case
unicoloured. No bright colours.
Dark-coloured jacket, waistcoat or cardigan with
buttons: black, navy, grey, beige, brown, in any case
unicoloured. No bright colours.
Jacket, waistcoat or cardigan may be taken off during
play.
Tie is not mandatory.
[...]
4.10.1.3. No players with t-shirts, jeans, shorts,
sneakers, baseball caps or inappropriate dress are allowed
in the playing area. Any requests to wear national or
traditional dress shall be approved by FIDE Supervisor.
[...]
4.10.9. If a player fails to fulfil his/her duties listed
in Articles 4.10.1, 4.10.4 – 4.10.8, he/she can be
penalised by FIDE Council as follows: 5% of his/her prize
money shall be forfeited to the Organiser and a further 5%
to FIDE for each breach. In cases of serious misconduct,
the player may be disqualified from the event.
Refusing to match him with a competitor because of this, effectively preventing him to compete, was disproportionate regardless.
Edit: I see you added a section that specifically disallows jeans after I posted my comment. We could have saved some time.
4.10.1.3. No players with t-shirts, jeans, shorts,
sneakers, baseball caps or inappropriate dress are allowed
in the playing area. Any requests to wear national or
traditional dress shall be approved by FIDE Supervisor.
It's entirely possible to read 4.10.1.1, conclude that blue jeans are fine, and then skim over 4.10.1.3.
However the Carlsens read it, after reading it, years will have passed. Carlsen didn't dress like he did after a studious read of the rules. He just put on some nice clothes that were no different from what he usually wears at tournaments.
Except he forgot a belt. A proper organiser would have offered to lend him one.
He's not a regular participant, Magnus is almost an institution of his own.
Either way, it's literally his job to follow the FIDE rules (which is unusual but true), and he's the best in the world at his job.
---
> "It's entirely possible to read 4.10.1.1, conclude that blue jeans are fine, and then skim over 4.10.1.3."
In all fairness I originally did the same, so I hear ya. But I'm not a pro at this.
He is also very much no in agreement with FIDE (a tradition for chess champions - see Fischer, Kasparov). And to be honest FIDE is on FIFA level when it comes to being dodgy as an organisation so it’s hardly surprising.
This is some combination of
- "I'm above the law"
- teenage rebellion
- protest against the system
4. 10. 1. 2. Dress code for women.
Classic shoes.
Trouser or skirt suit or dress, preferably unicoloured, but not mandatory
So, the logical conclusion is perhaps, no surprise, that FIDE don't really want to enforce a strict dress code, but rather want to promote the sport, and that translates differently into dress codes (or lack of them) for men vs women...
Meanwhile Arkady Dvorkovich, President of FIDE : https://www.reddit.com/r/chess/comments/1hntyjb/arkady_dvork...
Dvorkovich is putins puppet, covering for Medvedev when putin was pretending to take a break.
FIDE is an agency that exists to promote and develop chess.
Magnus Carlsen is the biggest draw in the chess world by far.
A minor dress code violation should have been dealt with a fine as the rules very much allow for the benefit of the game.
Also, I don’t think there’s a single player who would complain about that (well, other than Kramnik, but Kramnik complains that spectators breathe too loud and that’s cheating).
And then FIDE should have stepped back and thought about the recent growth in the popularity of chess, since the pandemic and thanks to the work of the likes of Magnus and Gothamchess and should have reconsidered the strict dress code rules in the first place.
I don’t read the license agreement of every bit of software or the privacy policy of every website, after all.
Likewise, I use GPL software daily, for a living - doesn’t mean I’ve ever read the license.
You need to care about the bits around the actual chess playing, but regulations for these things are overwhelmingly made of "play nice, be reasonable, don't be a dick" rules. If you try to play by those high-level rules, apologise if you break the nitty gritty of the low-level rules and fix things at the earliest opportunity, it shouldn't be a big issue. Also, things like dress code can easily be a "not an actual rule, just convention" sort of affair.
They’re professionals because they understand the game and are in the top 1% of people who play it. Not because they are the best at memorising rules. The latter group are people Who become umpires/referees instead.
It makes me wonder if he's been enabled by tournament organizers being lax about enforcement of the rules for top players, when it should be the opposite - those with the most experience should be held to the highest standards because they should know better.
Women athletes who are forced to wear what amounts to underwear when the men aren't - they have a valid complaint about uniform standards. This sounds like a bunch of whiny silver-spooned brats.
Everyone is saying it's literally their job to know the rules, but for players like Hikaru and Magnus, this is not their job in any meaningful sense, it's a hobby.
Also, Magnus isn't lookirg for sympathy, he's just saying why he can't be bothered complying with these regulations, there's not that much in it for him.
It's not his occupation in some ways. He makes a lot more money from every other venture, so there is not a major economic incentive for him. Likewise, he works with creators and platforms that pull in big numbers of engaged viewers.
For what it's worth that was the same organization - FIDE - that has made those terrible choices in the past as well.
for the most part theyre paying a lot for non-playimg middlemen to be in the way
What
The facts are he violated the dress code rule and then withdrew when it was enforced. He then mentioned his FIDE alternative in the ensuing press coverage.
Edit: also, on paper, him attending a sponsor event and then violating a rule at the competition because he "didn't have time to change" speaks volumes about his priorities.
That’s the “objective” according to https://www.fide.com/images/stories/NEWS_2013/FIDE/Proposal_....
There are people who think that it can be reformed and there are people who don't think that FIDE can improve, but certainly no one argues that its past proves its commitment to professionalism.
I'd say you'd be hard-pressed to find a worse performing global sport federation.
Clean jeans are normal for “smart casual” now. And the dress code shouldn’t be so prescriptive. If you can pass as “smart casual” somewhere else, should be legal.
This is nothing more than a dumb outdated rule. He wore jeans. Not a fluorescent jump suit.
The arbiter didn’t clarify what was going on first saying it’s a 200$ fine which was meaningless to him, then latter saying you need to change or skip the next round.
Clothes has nothing to do to with chess.
I find it weird to witness all the drama, pomp, and circumstance around the professional chess scene. It is a board game. I couldn't care less if they decided to play pool-side with swimming trunks and flip-flops.
Magnus' priorities are clearly that he's won everything up for grabs and plays for fun. He doesn't need to worry about money nor rules set by a sport federation stuck about half a century in the past. If only the rest of us were so free!
What I was saying is that I think Magnus was protesting, and doing it as a publicity stunt. He didn't forget anything. He didn't expect to be given a pass.
And FIDE also weren't being dicks by enforcing the current rules.
Attending corporate sponsorship events sounds soul crushing for someone so free, not fun. His priority is keeping his sponsors happy as he tries to fire up his new thing.
I think Magnus is under a lot of slow-burn pressure. He's the best, but chess is a grindy game, it only takes one mistake to lose, everyone is watching him, there's nowhere to go but down, and he wants to have fun instead of practice his ass off.
A few tantrums might be a way of getting out of the competitive scene on his own terms.
• He chose not to contest it, for which there is a clear protocol, and simply withdrew.
• Based on two previous well-publicized incidents, it DID cross his mind that it would be a violation.
"The principle is simple: it is still required to follow the official dress-code, but elegant minor deviations (that may, in particular, include appropriate jeans matching the jacket) are allowed."
"They were saying that jeans were generally not allowed. If it's generally not allowed, that must mean that there must be exceptions. And if I, with a decent attempt at an outfit apart from that, didn't meet that exception, I don't see what would, frankly."
For the 99% people who don't know what it is, I figured than "slightly different rules" was a reasonable summary.
> Freestyle and FIDE organization are not in competition.
You may want to ask yourself why FIDE is acting like they are indeed in competition. Perhaps they see something that you don't? Several top players getting behind Freestyle chess probably has something to do with it.
That is because the only rules that are updated are the position of the pieces in the back row, and castling.
It's a bit like painting with oils or acrylics.
is there a game thats closer to fisher random than chess? checkers? pokemon the card game?
fisher random has the same pieces that move the same way, and at least half the pieces have same starting position as chess (the pawns)
if you compare to say, duck chess, only the opening of fisher random is different, and i imagine sometimes its the same? in duck chess, the openings, midgames, endgames and tactics are all different, whereas in fisher random, the midgames, endgames, and tactics are the same as in chess. fisher random is a superset of chess, and not by much.
engine chess is still considered chess, and similar to fisher random, the pieces and pawns start in different places than they do in chess
To me it seems like mostly the same game, just without the ability to study and memorize openings (the most tedious part of chess)
(Freestyle chess, Chess 960 and Fischer Random are names for the same game)
[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIDE_World_Fischer_Random_Ches...
They're competing for the time and attention of the players. If there are two competitions on the same day, players will have to choose which competition to play in. That in itself will determine where the sponsorship money goes unless they can agree not to put events on at the same time. They won't do that because it isn't in either group's interest.
Still, it seems like a step in the right direction.
Hikaru mentioned there had been drama between FIDE and himself about having cameras at the same tournament — and he felt FIDE refused to give him airtime on their streams. Hikaru also had drama with FIDE about the Freestyle league.
I think both happening at the same tournament, which they had threatened to boycott if FIDE didn’t permit them to also play Freestyle league, indicates this is political.
I concur except about the bureaucratic administrators. I think they do this because the upper class will replace them if they don't do the work of asserting the upper class's power.
The upper class doesn’t need dress code. They know they are the upper class. Dress codes are for petit bourgeois and the upper middle class who try to pretend but everyone knows they are actually middle class.
The billionaire they were working for wore stuff that was expensive, old and hence comfortable. He didn't have to play to anyone.
He did dress up to meet the president though, he had to play a part.
The president has to dress well all the time, he is always playing a part, in front of the whole world.
Wear your part. Or don't, if you don't want any part in all of this (which seems to be Magnus's motivation, or lack of it).
https://web.archive.org/web/20200925160442id_/https://www.fi...
But I wonder if another player complained to the administrators.
3.a. The following is acceptable for men players, captains, head of delegation. -- Suits, ties, dressy pants, trousers, jeans...
3.b. The following is NOT acceptable for men players, captains, head of delegation. -- Beach-wear slips, profanity and nude or semi-nude pictures printed on shirts, torn pants or jeans...
> The following is acceptable for men players, captains, head of delegation. Suits, ties, dressy pants, trousers, *jeans*.
And then later:
> The following is NOT acceptable for men players, captains, head of delegation. Beach-wear slips, profanity and nude or semi-nude pictures printed on shirts, torn pants or jeans.
Magnus did not wear torn jeans [2], I can’t see any justification for this enforcement choice.
Don’t even get me started on the sex differences in these rules.
[1]: https://www.fide.com/images/stories/NEWS_2013/FIDE/Proposal_... [2]: https://x.com/MagnusCarlsen/status/1872819038554148882
That Carlsen will be able to point at this clause could embarrass them greatly, perhaps even legally?
[1]: https://doc.fide.com/docs/2024_WRBC/wrbc2024_dress_code.pdf
I think if anybody's to be commended for their principle it's probably the organisers? They have their dress code, he violated it, was warned, continued to violate it, and they enforced the rule despite his name.
Magnus is a tremendous chess player. He's also, by all evidence, a massive asshole, and continuously shows boorish behaviour and terrible sportsmanship.
I can’t even figure out what the principle was.
I'm not a chess dress code rules lawyer, but I think the principle here is that the judge was power tripping and hit him twice for a single dress code violation.
Yes, we have. That ship has sailed long ago.
But, in this context, specifically, the GP might have meant 'censured' instead of 'censored' and it was autocorrect or mental confusion.
This is sport event after all, and he is an athlete!
It is like asking female athletes to wear corset and long dress, because that was traditional dress in Victorian England!
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-12-29/chess-player-fined-ov...
You can't call a rule new, which is nagging them for nearly a decade now:
https://www.chess.com/news/view/dress-code-incident-at-world...
I think they come off better, personally. I'm not saying that should be the dress code, he shouldn't be allowed to wear jeans or whatever, or even that it's bad of him to decide not to play rather than to play in jeans. I just don't think 'it became a matter of principle' is a great argument for him, because it just makes me think better of the organisers for similarly standing by theirs.
another player was not fined or punished at all for wearing basically the same thing
The reason is (according to Carlsen) of course that FIDE is driven by a strict adherence of «rules» which are defined by a small set of people in power. Whenever something happens they always say «oh, but these are the rules», but the process for changing the rules is very one-sided and power driven. This was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Yet another example of a silly unnecessary rule.
[1]: In an earlier WC he got stuck in traffic and arrived in ski clothing, but changed after the first round.
This every government or organization that has ever existed. Every human group from beginning of time. Left or Right, up or down.
Why would smart people care about denim vs. trousers?
Let competitors wear pajamas- it makes no difference.
I'm usually not one to stand on formality but that does feel kinda gross.
Mostly it's about the sponsors. It's much more difficult to get sponsors for an event if the participants are dressed like they slept in their clothes. That's why organizers try to impose minimal standards on dresscodes.
Jeans and sneakers are maybe debatable, but players showed up with cargo pants, shorts or tank tops on other events.
In the FIDE regulation for that event jeans were explicitly mentioned as not allowed. FIDE would have made a fool out of themselves when allowing Magnus to wear the jeans.
Would be interesting if they can get mattress companies or apparel companies that have good comfy clothes as sponsors. Why not play chess on a firm mattress?
FIDE needs to embrace the younger generation that think the game is cool. Ancient dress codes are a distraction.
Textbook slippery slope fallacy.
Also, he looked very sharp in his outfit with the jeans. Frankly it was a better ensemble than I’d look in one of my suits.
This looks to me like a case where FIDE got greedy and forgot to balance the talents interests with the sponsors.
Anyone who considers jeans to look like "clothes someone would sleep in" is immediately dubious in my book. Jeans are so extraordinarily uncomfortable to sleep in that I don't think I've ever intentionally done that in my life.
They happen to be rules that people decided are fun, or interesting, or something. If the dress code isn't fun they should change it.
And for that matter... this tournament is a blitz game, itself a change of rules. Perhaps it would be well suited to a change in dress code. Formal clothes for classic chess. Show up in your PJs for a game that takes as long as brushing your teeth.
Rather for people with a really good memory. Which, to me, makes the game extremely boring and bland.
Chess to me is boring because the better player should win/draw unless they blunder. And we (generally) know who the better player is because of ratings.
I’ve always much preferred games that in the short run have a luck component that can create massive swings (poker, backgammon, Scrabble) and inequality.
And that attitude led us to these honestly inane events.
I'd play some Go but I have almost no one to play with casually. And since I play for fun, online isn't so good.
learn your tactics and end games instead.
Chess is for everyone, my 5 year old plays chess. Being world class is another thing.
More generally, appearances are important because they are clear signs of attention and care. Something worth our respect is worth dressing up for, and a collective dressing up reinforces the importance and elevation of a given event or moment over other events or moments of lesser import.
4.10.1.3. No players with t-shirts, jeans, shorts,
sneakers, baseball caps or inappropriate dress are allowed
in the playing area. Any requests to wear national or
traditional dress shall be approved by FIDE Supervisor.
Attention and care for appearances, not for the job to be done.
One could interpret it that the sharp looks are there as a cover for ... less than stellar competence.
You cannot win with statements like that.
its kinda cruel that you think homeless people who have maybe less than jeans should be given no respect, because they dont have a suit
Ah yes the wonderful "everything is equally valid" postmodernism. Why don't the organisers subscribe to that? They must be dumb-dumbs.
Take a sport like rowing. Technically there's no reason why all the rowers in a boat needs to be dressed identically, but it looks more professional.
Prescriptive contest rules suck, but I don’t like the attitude endemic to nerds that truly smart people don’t care about personal aesthetic. There’s no more honor in not caring how you look than there is in not caring about food or fine art. I have friends that are smart, capable professionals that look like they only get new clothes when their mom notices their shirts exceed the totinos pizza roll stain threshold and drags them to Bob’s— whether it’s at home, work, wedding, date night, court, the gym, the club, a con, etc. You’d expect them to reject people’s tendency to judge people on their looks, but ironically, they deem anyone that puts any effort into their appearance (a.k.a. doesn’t solely dress for comfort) shallow, unintelligent, and boring. Predictably, gender expectations play a huge part.
His outfit is sharp as hell Fwiw
Then IMO you should be on Magnus' side here. He is a truly smart person and IMO he looked clean, groomed, and ready for business in those jeans. He wears a mindfully put together outfit of good quality. This is good character, is it not?
Reportedly he was not sure he'd even bother to show up to this event[2].
[1]: https://www.chess.com/blog/Eternal-Pawn/chess-at-the-crossro...
FIDE conceded — and then punished Magnus for his jeans and refused to allow Hikaru to have cameras. It’s hard not to see it as political, given the context and fact FIDE went after multiple top level players.
Magnus Carlsen Got KICKED OUT Of World Championship (5 min)
"Earlier in the day, another participant, Mr. Ian Nepomniachtchi, was also fined for breaching the dress code by wearing sports shoes. However, Mr. Nepomniachtchi complied, changed into approved attire, and continued to play in the tournament," the statement added."
A: To see administrators administrate.
B: To see chess players play chess.
Someone somewhere has lost sight of a most basic fundamental that everything else they may care about rests on.
hikaru was trying to get camera feed of his games to stream, and fide said no
https://x.com/MagnusCarlsen/status/1872819038554148882
FYI 'OOTD' == 'outfit of the day'
Maybe not everyone is impressed by money?
The word "to" is commonly interpreted to mean "for the purpose of" in this context. That is, the contestant should put effort into making their appearance impressive. Which, I also find offensive, but to a lesser degree.
I'd propose that they certainly aren't "sport" sneakers, which is what she got dinged for. Unless you're a multi-millionaire playing tennis in a country club, I guess -- but the only reason a person would wear those particular shoes in sport would be to impress their peers.
And if you're not personally impressed by money, how would you interpret the "dress to impress" guideline? Would you find any shoes to be impressive? Perhaps no shoes at all? I'd lean towards 6" platforms, myself, as some people find tallness impressive.
See also: Tennis. Schools. Restaurants. Courtrooms. Offices. Stores. Even public sidewalks.
Welcome to society.
The rules aren't even universal, tennis clubs, schools, and even countries have different rules altogether, which highlights the absurdity of it all.
If you're going to enforce arbitrary rules, they must at least be objectively defined. Otherwise it just becomes a power trip for whomever decides.
At least the Daily Fail has pictures - https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12908497/Chess-kaza...
Also - those shoes are ugly. Yet, I would not think twice about appropriateness. Would seem fine to wear to work, a funeral, or a state function.
Carslen: "But you can't disqualify me! This is outrageous! I've been planning for this tournament for months, and now you're telling me I can't play because of my pants?"
FIDE: "I'm afraid the rules are quite clear, dear fellow. Proper dress code is required, and jeans simply won't do. You should have read the fine print."
Carslen: "Fine print? What fine print? This is a travesty! A complete and utter waste of my time. Do you have any idea how much effort I've put into preparing for this tournament?"
FIDE: "I understand your frustration, but rules are rules. Now, if you'll just step aside, we have a schedule to keep. The tournament must go on without you."
Carslen: "Without me? But I'm the best player here! You can't just kick me out like this. It's not fair!"
FIDE: "Life's not fair, my friend. Now, if you'll excuse us, we have some important work to do. Good day to you."
Carslen: "But wait! You can't just leave me here. What am I supposed to do now?"
FIDE: "That's not my problem. Perhaps you could try your hand at some other hobby. Knitting, perhaps? Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a tournament to run."
Carslen: "You know what? Forget it. I'm withdrawing from this tournament. And you know what else? I'm going to take my jeans and start my own chess tournament. With blackjack. And hookers. Actually, forget the chess tournament. I'm just going to start a jeans-only nightclub. That'll show you!"
FIDE: "What? You can't do that! You've already been disqualified for the dress code violation."
Carslen: "Oh, I can do it. And I'm going to do it. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some plans to make. Toodle-oo!"
But what function does the helmet serve?
Protection from the biggest danger in chess, being hit by flying pieces.
(Submitted URL was https://www.timesnownews.com/sports/magnus-carlsen-disqualif....)
A loud silly issue where he can loudly tie back to what could be seen as “archaic” rules for the sake of rules and a federation that is not where the best players play.
Seems like it might be the beginning of a few issues for a handful of visible players :)
[1] https://www.theguardian.com/sport/series/leonard-barden-ches...
I'm still undecided who's right here or who should have done what: I'm not for stupid dress codes, but it also seems silly to get hung up over if you can easily comply at no detriment to your performance or anything, so idk, just saying that it does seem like an option to stay home if you disagree when you're someone whose absence would be very conspicuous
(Plus, its not really clear to me that Carlson actually cares about the dress code rule? By his own admission, he broke it by accident, not like a concious act of rebellion, and his issue seems to have been with the way it was then enforced rather then the rule itself.)
Kind of goes to show how silly the rule is then, right? It’s not like he was wearing a swimsuit. Sport coat and jeans is pretty formal.
Part of what makes showing up in jeans way more valuable than not showing up is how normal it seems otherwise. Show, don’t tell, basically. If you didn’t know about the rule it wouldn’t have seemed out of place at all.
So, can a female player wear a bikini? By the arguments here, then yes, that should be allowed. Would it interfere with game play? I think yes.
Can a man wear a bright orange Sarang with blinking lights?
How do you draw the line? Doesn't there need to be a line somewhere so there isn't chaos? It's just that todays generation now thinks 'jeans' are ok. 20 years ago they were not.
he chose to withdraw. he's not happy with fide anyway.
They were being belligerent.
But the penalty he got was forfeit one game, i dont see that in the rules?
Admittedly I’m not into show for show’s sake.
In a presentation shared with the players about the dress code before the event, jeans are listed on a slide titled "What's NOT allowed?" with "Not Approved" stamped in big red letters over a picture of jeans [3]. FIDE CEO says jeans have been banned in this event since 2018, and that players were asked for feedback on the dress code before the event, and none complained [4].
The same dress code presentation shared with players also has instructions for the Chief Arbiter:
The dress code is strictly enforced to maintain a consistent level of professionalism and respect for the event. The Chief Arbiter, in consultation with the FIDE Athletes Commission, will ensure that the dress code is upheld.
First Infringement
A financial penalty of 200 € for open events and 100 € for women's events. The player is allowed to play the current round.
Further Infringements
Exclusion from the pairings for the next round. Each round counts as one infringement.
In an interview, Magnus stated he was not having the best tournament, explained he had already lost his patience with FIDE due to an ongoing feud over the freestyle chess championship, and stated he declined to change into approved attire as a matter of principle and would withdraw from the rapid tournament and also the upcoming fide blitz tournament, apologizing to fans at home [8].
[1] https://doc.fide.com/docs/90%20Congress%20Agenda%20and%20Ann...
[2] https://www.fide.com/directory/commissions (GM Ahmed Adly, GM Eugenio Torre, IM Dinara Saduakassova, WIM Jesse Nikki February, GM Irina Krush, GM Wei Yi, IM Alina Kashlinskaya, IM Oluwafemi Daniel Balogun, IM Noaman Omar, GM Ioan-Cristian Chirila, IM Irine Kharisma Sukandar, GM Ivan Cheparinov, GM Evgeny Tomashevsky, WGM Aleksandra Dimitrijevic)
[3] https://doc.fide.com/docs/2024_WRBC/wrbc2024_dress_code.pdf
[4] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWi5CIKhuSs [ Magnus Carlsen Jeans Scandal | Full Story ] from 15m00s
[5] https://www.fide.com/news/3363
[6] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrK88j-fyaw [ FIDE World Rapid Championship 2024 | Rds 6-9 ], Magnus' round 7 game finishes around 2h24m30s, round 8 2h59m50s
[7] https://www.facebook.com/chess/videos/-magnus-carlsen-is-unp...
[8] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWi5CIKhuSs [ Magnus Carlsen Jeans Scandal | Full Story ] from 3m28s
Based.
EDIT: I find it hilarious that this is downvoted. It's incredibly cogent to the point. If Magnus was leading the event I guarantee he wouldn't have pursued this distraction.
He’s been fed up with FIDE for a while if you’ve been paying attention. There’s a lot more to this than just his pants.
And sure, he's "fed up" with FIDE (in the sense that everyone who thinks they are bigger than a league does). So why did he participate? If he had the purported principles, he should just withdraw from FIDE sanctioned events, no?
Changing organizations like FIDE doesn't happen by withdrawing.
You just can't win...
FIDE is lost in the 80’s, and someone else is going to figure out how to make chess an entertainment sport and make a truly enormous amount of money.
Apparently it's true!??
1.) "Saturday, 28 Dec 2024 00:33 FIDE statement regarding Magnus Carlsen’s dress code breach" https://www.fide.com/news/3363
2.) "Chess: Carlsen disqualified in New York after refusing to change out of jeans The world No 1 was defaulted from the World Rapid Championship and has also chosen to withdraw from the World Blitz saying ‘it became a matter of principle’"
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2024/dec/27/chess-carlsen-...
The title sponsor is Google, a well-known tech company.
Here's Google CEO Sundar Pichai in GQ: https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/lifestyle/article/sundar-picha...
https://static01.nyt.com/images/2023/05/04/multimedia/04even...
Another event, another dress code.
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQfQwah...
Edit: removed extraneous arguments. Point here is that Pichai observes event-specific dress codes rather than assuming that Google’s code applies.
I'm saying that it is ACCEPTABLE to wear jeans, even in a professional setting. Jeans are "smart business attire." (If the dress code were "formal," that would be something else. But it isn't.)
Did I make it so obscurely?
EDIT: Actually, the poster above was not accurate. The dress code is found here- https://www.fide.com/docs/regulations/wrbc_regulations_2024_...
And it was much more precise than "smart business attire.".
Though I’m sure the old guard would say some dress is too distracting.
Traditional Norwegian dress for women and men.
https://thespurtrail.com/the-bunad-norways-traditional-folk-...
what would you call the ones in the Middle East?