The entire World Rapid and Blitz Championship drama surrounding Magnus Carlsen explained

Magnus Carlsen, the world's highest-rated chess player, has been in the headlines for a controversial reason. FIDE, the official governing body of chess, announced that the Grandmaster was debarred from playing one of the rounds in the World Rapid and Blitz Tournament (December 26 to 28, 2024) for violating the dress code. Carlsen, who was wearing jeans was subsequently fined as well.

On the other hand, Carlsen had a rough Day 1 at the tournament. The GM drew against Awonder Liang (2519), Gleb Dudin (2436), and Aleksandr Shimanov (2578) and lost against Denis Lazavik (2553).

Later, when he arrived at the arena wearing jeans, arbiters told him to change. Carlsen refused to comply and had to forfeit round nine. He later withdrew from the tournament.

Here is what FIDE's statement said:

"Today, Mr. Magnus Carlsen breached the dress code by wearing jeans, which are explicitly prohibited under long-standing regulations for this event. The Chief Arbiter informed Mr. Carlsen of the breach, issued a $200 fine, and requested that he change his attire. Unfortunately, Mr. Carlsen declined, and as a result, he was not paired for round nine. This decision was made impartially and applies equally to all players."

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"F**k you" - Magnus Carlsen drops the 'F-bomb' and leaves the tournament

Magnus Carlsen, the reigning Rapid and Blitz World Champion, was barred from participating in Round 9 of the ongoing tournament. It is important to note that he was not disqualified from the entire tournament. However, after facing this penalty, he chose to withdraw from the event.

Carlsen further stirred controversy with an interview featuring Chess YouTuber and Twitch streamer Levy Rozman (aka "GothamChess"). In a now-viral clip, the Grandmaster openly expressed his frustration with FIDE, even using the F-word to emphasize his sentiments:

"Honestly, my patience with them (FIDE) was not very big to begin with. And it's okay, 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."

During the interview, Carlsen explained that he was not disqualified from the entire tournament, but was rather fined and later received a warning. However, Carlsen labeled the situation as a "matter of principle":

"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 realize 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."

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Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura (aka "GMHikaru" on Twitch) have also clashed with FIDE over the decision to organize the Freestyle Chess tournament. Carlsen has accused FIDE of actively threatening players to dissuade them from participating in the event.