'Fine, I'm out, f**k you' - Magnus Carlsen lashes out at FIDE as he quits the World Rapid and Blitz Championships over dress code violation

In a bizarre turn of events, Magnus Carlsen was disqualified from the ongoing World Rapid and Blitz Championships over a dress code violation. The Norwegian arrived at the tournament wearing jeans and was subsequently fined.

Carlsen, a five-time World Chess Champion, struggled on the opening day of the competition, slipping to the 80th position in the rankings after having won only one of his first five rounds. The Grandmaster was held to a draw by three lower-ranked players - Awonder Liang (2519), Gleb Dudin (2436) and Aleksandr Shimanov (2578). He claimed a win over Denis Kadric (2513) in the second round but was later upset by Belarus’ Denis Lazavik (2553).

On Saturday, Magnus Carlsen arrived for the second day of competition dressed in a pair of jeans, which violated FIDE's dress code. The 34-year-old was initially fined $200 and was asked to change. However, he refused to comply and was subsequently disqualified.

Speaking on the issue with Take Take Take, Carlsen seemed unbothered by his disqualification, saying,

“They can enforce their rules. That’s fine by me. And my response is that fine, then I’m out. Like, f** you. I don’t think anything more has to be said.”

Magnus Carlsen explains the reasoning behind wearing a pair of jeans to the World Rapid and Blitz Championships

In the same interview with Take Take Take, Magnus Carlsen explained his reasoning behind arriving at the World Rapid and Blitz Championships in a pair of jeans.

The Norwegian outlined his difficult opening day at the competition and detailed that after completing a prior commitment, he barely had time to change his clothes.

“Yesterday was a difficult day. You know, I lost one game, could have lost a couple more. Generally, I was not playing well, a bit out of control. I had a really good sleep, and I had a nice lunch meeting before I came here. I just barely had time to go to the room, change, so I put on a shirt, a jacket. And honestly, I didn’t even think about the jeans.”

He added that after paying the initial fine, he offered to change for tomorrow’s competition, but the FIDE declined.

“Well, first of all, I got a fine. And then I got a warning that I would not be paired if I didn’t go change my jeans immediately. They said that I could do it after the third round today. I said, ‘I’ll change tomorrow if that’s okay. I didn’t even realise it today’. But they said, ‘you have to change now’. And well, at that point it became a bit of a matter of principle for me.”

With this disqualification, Magnus Carlsen has lost his chance to defend his World Rapid and Blitz crown. The reigning champion in the event had entered as a favorite to win both titles, having won six Blitz and five Rapid world championships over the years.