The number one chess player in the world, Magnus Carlsen, found himself in another scandal. Magnus was playing in the World Rapid Chess Championship before he was asked to change his jeans to an appropriate dress code.
Matter of Principle
Magnus refused, was not paired for the next round of the competition, and was fined $200 by the referee. Magnus responded just by saying, “Fine, fuck you, I’m out.” “This decision was made impartially and applies equally to all players,” FIDE said
Magnus said it was a matter of principle for him and added: “I haven’t appealed. Honestly, I’m too old at this point to care too much; if this is what they want to do, nobody wants to back down; if this is where we are, that’s fine by me. I’ll probably head off to somewhere where the weather is a bit nicer than here, and that’s it.”
Magnus also explained he was in a meeting before the tournament and was in a hurry to make it in time, so he didn’t even think about the jeans when he came to his room to put on a shirt and a jacket.
“They said I could do it after the third round today. I said I’d change it tomorrow if that’s okay; I didn’t even realize it today. But they said you have to change now,” said Magnus.
President of FIDE Persuades Magnus to Come Back!
In the interview on the “Take Take Take” YouTube channel after the dispute, Magnus said he would be back and play in the tournament for at least one more day. He also added that he may play more than one day if he does well.
“Speaking to Dvorkovich and the main sponsor, Turlov, it did feel we could have some fruitful discussions, and at the end of the day, I decided to play,” he said. “In addition, I love playing blitz chess. I want to give the fans the chance to see me play it. It could be the last time; who knows?”
FIDE President Dvorkovich posted on X expressing regret over the Magnus situation and approving a more flexible dress code during the World Blitz Championships.
Magnus Carlsen in Poker
Magnus has been involved in the drama a few times before and is one of the most followed chess players in the world. When he gets tired of chess, he often drifts into the poker world. Is this going to be another episode in which Magnus switches his focus to poker again?
Magnus has been part of the most popular poker stream, “Hustler Casino Live,” had a deep run in the Norwegian Poker Championship, and has played in a few streams against influencers from different spheres.
News source: yahoo.com and theguardian.com
