Chess Federation eases dress code after Magnus Carlsen's 'Jeangate' incident

Paris: The International Chess Federation (FIDE) eased its dress code for players on Sunday following a fine imposed on world number one Magnus Carlsen for wearing jeans at an event in New York.

Carlsen, the 34-year-old Norwegian and five-time world chess champion, was asked to change his attire during the World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships on Friday. FIDE stated that Carlsen declined the chance to change out of his jeans, resulting in a 200 USD (192 euros) fine.

He subsequently withdrew from the competition saying: "Honestly, I am too old at this point to care too much… Nobody wants to back down... I'll probably head off to somewhere where the weather is a bit nicer than here."

Announcing the change in policy world chess boss Arkadi Dvorkovitch said: "I took the decision to trial an approach to provide more flexibility to FIDE officials in judgements regarding the suitability of the attire.

"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."

Although Carlsen withdrew from the rapid section of the event, he may now participate in the upcoming blitz competition, which begins on Tuesday.

Agency