Magnus Carlsen quits chess championship after being told to change jeans

World chess fig 1 Magnus Carlsen has discontinue a large tourney aft being told helium could not transportation connected playing portion wearing jeans.

The chess large had been defending his titles astatine the FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships successful New York erstwhile officials made the request.

The grandmaster said helium had offered to alteration his trousers for the adjacent day, but was fined and told helium needed to alteration immediately.

The chess federation (FIDE) said its formal codification regulations were designed to "ensure fairness and professionalism for each participants".

Carlsen is simply a high-profile fig successful chess who has attracted immoderate contention successful caller years.

Last year, helium settled a long-running ineligible quality aft accusing a rival of cheating successful a tournament.

On Friday helium pulled retired of the championships for the abbreviated signifier versions of the crippled owed to the formal altercation. Carlsen had been some the reigning Blitz and Rapid Chess champions.

He added helium wouldn't beryllium appealing the decision, saying: "Honestly, I americium excessively aged astatine this constituent to attraction excessively much."

He said helium had been wearing jeans for a luncheon meeting, and "didn't adjacent deliberation about" swapping them for a antithetic brace of trousers erstwhile heading to the tournament.

He turned up wearing a shirt, blazer, acheronian jeans and formal shoes and played a fewer rounds earlier being asked to change.

When his connection to alteration for the adjacent time was refused, Carlsen said it past "became a spot of a substance of rule for me."

In a statement, FIDE confirmed the 34-year-old was fined $200 (£159), and said its rules were applied "impartially". They cited a lawsuit wherever different subordinate was fined connected the aforesaid time earlier changing his shoes.

Carlsen is simply a five-time World Chess Champion, and retains the apical ranking successful the sport.

The Norwegian has agelong been considered a maverick successful the chess satellite since becoming a grandmaster - the apical rubric successful chess - astatine the property of 13.

In a now-settled quality with hostile Hans Niemann, Carlsen discontinue a tourney successful 2022 aft Niemann bushed him, earlier going connected to impeach his American rival of cheating.

Niemann had denied the allegations, and adjacent said helium would "strip afloat naked" to beryllium his innocence.

The brace went connected to settee a $100m (£79m) suit successful August past year.