Chess player Magnus Carlsen disqualified from championship tournament

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Magnus Carlsen has been disqualified from the World Rapid Chess Championship in New York due to a dress code violation.

The world’s No. 1 ranked player refused to change out of his jeans after a previous warning, leading to his dismissal ahead of the ninth round.

FIDE (World Chess Federation) has since issued a statement explaining its decision, and how the dress code is put in place to ensure professionalism.

Carlsen himself has since issued his own statement.

“I said I’ll change tomorrow … but they said you have to change now it became a matter of principle for me so here we are! Honestly I’m too old at this point to care too much. If this is what they want to do I’ll probably set off to somewhere where the weather is a bit nicer,” he said.

Carlsen also withdrew from the World Blitz tournament that begins on December 30. He stood little chance of retaining his World Rapid Championship title after scoring 5/8 in the first eight rounds.

This marked the first time ever that the World Rapid Championship was held in the United States.

The event showcases two distinct formats: Rapid, where each player has 15 minutes for the entire game plus a 10-second increment per move starting from the very first, and Blitz, with just three minutes per player for the game and a two-second increment per move.

Carlsen is a former five-time Rapid Champion and seven-time Blitz champion. Throughout his illustrious career, he’s captured 64 major titles.