Chess Champion Out Over Blue Jeans Breach

Magnus Carlsen won't change, even for the International Chess Federation, so he's on the sidelines for now. The World No. 1 player quit the World Rapid Championship in New York on Friday after twice being told he couldn't play in blue jeans, the Guardian reports. "I said I'll change tomorrow," Carlsen said, adding, "but they said you have to change now." Carlsen maintained it became a matter of principle at that point. "If this is what they want to do I'll probably set off to somewhere where the weather is a bit nicer," the five-time world chess champion said.

Carlsen said he'd attended a lunch meeting before the second day's competition and "barely had time to go the room, change, put on a shirt, jacket and honestly I didn't even think about the jeans." The organization posted on X that he was informed of the violation, fined $200, and asked to change clothes, per NBC News. "Unfortunately, Mr. Carlsen declined," the post said, adding that the dress code is "designed to ensure professionalism and fairness for all participants." His poor performance in the early rounds meant that Carlsen was looking at long odds of successfully defending his title anyway, per CNN. A seven-time World Blitz Chess champion, he's also pulling out of that competition, which starts on Monday. (More Magnus Carlsen stories.)