The situation that occurred this Friday in New York lacks common sense. What happened with Magnus Carlsen, the world number 1 in chess, would be like Lionel Messi being kicked out of the World Cup for having entered a match with the wrong boots. In that case, surely FIFA, intelligently, would tell the Argentine captain to try to change them, and thus not lose his great figure. Well, it didn’t happen in chess and Magnus Carlsen was disqualified from the Quick Games World Cup.perhaps the best in history, for having violated the “dress code.” He was kicked out of the contest for showing up to the gaming room wearing jeans. It sounds surreal, but it’s real.
“Head referee Alex Holowzsak has declared that Magnus Carlsen has been expelled from the tournament and will not be paired in the ninth round for violating the dress code”they explained from FIDE. The curious thing is that other players went with similar looks and were not sanctioned. Only Ian Nepomniachtchi had suffered it, although the Russian chose to change his shoes.
While analyzing his victory against his compatriot Aryan Tari on a live stream, Carlsen heard the news, accepted the decision and declared: “Okay, they can enforce their rules, that’s fine with me, and my response is: Okay, then I’m leaving, to hell with you.”
Furthermore, the leader of the ranking, who had five points in eight rounds and was playing one of the worst tournaments of his career, added: “I’m pretty tired of FIDE, so I don’t want to know anything more about this. I don’t want to have anything to do with them. Sorry to everyone at home, maybe it’s a stupid start, but I don’t think it’s funny. “I feel like I’m at complete war with them.”.
Logically, Magnus, who had won the double in 2023, withdrew from the second tournament (the blitz), which will start on December 30. And, in this way, there will be no world champion in another of the most important events on the calendar. He had already dropped out of the defense of the classic title, claiming that he was more eager to play speed chess from home.