World chess number one Magnus Carlsen quits tournament after refusing to change jeans

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2024-12-28 20:00:06

Magnus Carlsen says he is "too old at this point to care too much" about appealing the decision and will "probably head off to somewhere where the weather is a bit nicer".

The chess grandmaster was defending his titles at the Fide World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships in New York when the incident occurred.

Officials said Carlsen had broken the dress code regulations by wearing jeans and asked him to change, but the 34-year-old refused.

"I didn't even think about it... First of all, I got a fine which is fine, and then I got a warning that I would not be paired if I didn't go change my clothes. They said that I could do it after the third round today.

"I said 'I'll change tomorrow if that's OK, I didn't even realise it today', but they said, 'Well you have to change now'. At that point it became a bit of a matter of principle for me."

"If this is what they want to do... I guess it goes both ways, right - nobody wants to back down - and this is where we are. It's fine by me. I'll probably head off to somewhere where the weather is a bit nicer than here."