[HN Gopher] Carlsen disqualified from World Rapid and Blitz cham...
       ___________________________________________________________________
        
       Carlsen disqualified from World Rapid and Blitz championship for
       wearing jeans
        
       Author : throwup238
       Score  : 179 points
       Date   : 2024-12-28 00:54 UTC (22 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.timesnownews.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.timesnownews.com)
        
       | hilux wrote:
       | I was out for lunch with some friends. Came back, saw this, and
       | thought "OK obviously some Onion copycat. Why is this being
       | posted to Hacker News?".
       | 
       | Apparently it's true!??
        
         | pella wrote:
         | > Apparently it's true!??
         | 
         | 1.) "Saturday, 28 Dec 2024 00:33 FIDE statement regarding
         | Magnus Carlsen's dress code breach"
         | https://www.fide.com/news/3363
         | 
         | 2.) _" Chess: Carlsen disqualified in New York after refusing
         | to change out of jeans The world No 1 was defaulted from the
         | World Rapid Championship and has also chosen to withdraw from
         | the World Blitz saying 'it became a matter of principle'"_
         | 
         | https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2024/dec/27/chess-carlsen-...
        
           | ogogmad wrote:
           | I think he meant that as a rhetorical question. It's
           | commentary because he thinks it's Onion-worthy.
        
       | pella wrote:
       | If chess is a sport, then the mind deserves its own professional
       | chess shoes
       | 
       |  _" Earlier in the day, another participant, Mr. Ian
       | Nepomniachtchi, was also fined for breaching the dress code by
       | wearing sports shoes. However, Mr. Nepomniachtchi complied,
       | changed into approved attire, and continued to play in the
       | tournament," the statement added."_
        
         | daxfohl wrote:
         | Though "Air Magnus" rolls off the tongue better than "Air
         | Nepomniachtchi".
        
       | pm2222 wrote:
       | Technically he withdrew and was not forced out.
        
         | shkkmo wrote:
         | Technically he was disqualified from the rapid event and
         | withdrew from the blitz event.
        
           | searealist wrote:
           | He was not. He was unmatched from round 10. He could continue
           | to play after that if he corrected his attire.
        
             | geor9e wrote:
             | So the only possible way for him to be disqualified is if
             | he hung around for the rest of the tournament repeating the
             | same thing over and over again? Sounds like newspeak logic.
        
         | Maxatar wrote:
         | It looks like he was disqualified from one event and then
         | withdrew for the other related event. He said he would change
         | his pants for tomorrow but was told that he had to change
         | before the start of the next game which was scheduled for
         | today. When he indicated that he would not do so he was
         | disqualified, ie. FIDE removed him from the schedule.
        
       | shevis wrote:
       | The dress code is pretty outdated and doesn't add anything of
       | substance. Let the players be comfortable, we just want to see
       | good chess!
        
         | julianeon wrote:
         | Yeah, jeans should qualify as dressy enough for a chess
         | championship in 2024. It's presentable and not insulting. We
         | left the 50's a long time ago.
        
       | spoonfeeder006 wrote:
       | I like watching chess videos of this guy doing online chess. I
       | appreciate his being extremely down to earth and not arrogant by
       | any means. Great vibes
        
       | adamtaylor_13 wrote:
       | This is dumb. But so is golf attire in my opinion.
       | 
       | Admittedly I'm not into show for show's sake.
        
         | molticrystal wrote:
         | I think that is why some people enjoy John Daly in golfing. For
         | those unfamiliar, look up him up on google images. He is known
         | for usually wearing some sweat pants and smoking a cigar in
         | tournament play.
        
       | ffitch wrote:
       | World Rapid and Blitz Championship downgraded itself to the World
       | Rapid and Blitz Candidates Tournament. Hope sponsors are not too
       | pissed.
        
         | cool_dude85 wrote:
         | Maybe the World Blitz Candidates Tournament but Magnus was
         | practically eliminated from contention in Rapid before this.
        
       | magicalhippo wrote:
       | The submitted article does not mention that Carlsen has a feud[1]
       | with FIDE over Freestyle Chess.
       | 
       | Reportedly he was not sure he'd even bother to show up to this
       | event[2].
       | 
       | [1]: https://www.chess.com/blog/Eternal-Pawn/chess-at-the-
       | crossro...
       | 
       | [2]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErKi4NcLlOc
        
         | searealist wrote:
         | Yep. He was also performing extremely poorly in this
         | tournament.
        
       | hilux wrote:
       | The dress code calls for "smart business attire."
       | 
       | The title sponsor is Google, a well-known tech company.
       | 
       | Here's Google CEO Sundar Pichai in GQ: https://www.gq-
       | magazine.co.uk/lifestyle/article/sundar-picha...
        
         | robotresearcher wrote:
         | And here he is arriving at an event with a dress code.
         | 
         | https://static01.nyt.com/images/2023/05/04/multimedia/04even...
         | 
         | Another event, another dress code.
         | 
         | https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQfQwah...
         | 
         | Edit: removed extraneous arguments. Point here is that Pichai
         | observes event-specific dress codes rather than assuming that
         | Google's code applies.
        
           | hilux wrote:
           | What's your point? I'm not suggesting that Sundar ALWAYS
           | wears jeans and NEVER wears suits.
           | 
           | I'm saying that it is ACCEPTABLE to wear jeans, even in a
           | professional setting. Jeans are "smart business attire." (If
           | the dress code were "formal," that would be something else.
           | But it isn't.)
        
             | kevinventullo wrote:
             | I work at Google. I would not describe Google's dress code
             | as "smart business attire".
        
             | robotresearcher wrote:
             | Jeans are not smart business attire. Google's code is
             | casual, not smart business.
        
             | searealist wrote:
             | What's your point? If you find a photo of Larry Page in
             | pajamas then you should be able to wear that to any Google
             | event?
        
               | hilux wrote:
               | Does Larry Page regularly do business events in pajamas?
        
               | robotresearcher wrote:
               | The point is that Pichai observes the dress code
               | requested by the event host.
               | 
               | Did I make it so obscurely?
        
               | ensignavenger wrote:
               | To counter, the dress code was vague and imprecise. See
               | my other comment here-
               | https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42528218
               | 
               | EDIT: Actually, the poster above was not accurate. The
               | dress code is found here- https://www.fide.com/docs/regul
               | ations/wrbc_regulations_2024_...
               | 
               | And it was much more precise than "smart business
               | attire.".
        
               | searealist wrote:
               | Nope. It explicitly disallowed jeans.
        
               | ensignavenger wrote:
               | You are correct, I have edited my comment.
        
               | searealist wrote:
               | I was not responding to you.
        
               | dullcrisp wrote:
               | Yes, obviously.
        
         | ensignavenger wrote:
         | Had a friend who sold boats for a living. One day he was at a
         | business meeting where the attire was listed as "business
         | attire". When one of his buddies, another salesman, showed up
         | wearing shorts, a t-shirt and sunglasses, my friend made a
         | snarky remark about him not getting the memo about the attire.
         | His buddy responds, "I don't know what business you're in, but
         | I am in the boat business."
        
       | pm2222 wrote:
       | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNTD_R8Scbk
       | 
       | he chose to withdraw. he's not happy with fide anyway.
        
       | benatkin wrote:
       | He won't let the man get him down.
       | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5ZUshzhMtc
        
       | 7e wrote:
       | Probably having an off day and intentionally disqualified
       | himself.
        
       | foobarian wrote:
       | I wonder if this guy is slowly going off the deep end like a
       | number of other past chess masters. He's been such a great
       | example for aspiring players for a while now but I can't help but
       | worry.
        
         | JadeNB wrote:
         | > I wonder if this guy is slowly going off the deep end like a
         | number of other past chess masters. He's been such a great
         | example for aspiring players for a while now but I can't help
         | but worry.
         | 
         | I don't know much else about him, but nothing in this story
         | reads to me like someone going off the deep end. It sounds like
         | someone who picked a perhaps-unfortunate hill to die on, though
         | if you aren't willing to take risks to argue against silly
         | rules when you're at the top of your game then when will you,
         | but not someone losing his faculties.
        
           | jhghikvhu wrote:
           | Well there are other circumstances too. He didn't defend his
           | classical chess champion title. He likes his alcohol.
           | 
           | He hasn't gone off the deep end (past tense). But is it a
           | process currently in progress? Only possible to say in
           | hindsight but does certainly seem possible.
        
             | devit wrote:
             | Probably just burned out from chess, especially training
             | the whole day for competitions.
             | 
             | We are animals and eventually the brain will rebel against
             | extreme repetitive mental effort that is perceived to be at
             | least partially useless (and given he's already been the
             | world champion, it's easy for part of him to think there's
             | no point in training).
        
         | iambateman wrote:
         | He's fine.
        
         | cool_dude85 wrote:
         | He's one of a few extremely high profile players to publicly
         | support (and maybe financially back / have a stake in?)
         | Freestyle Chess, which may or may not be a venture capital-
         | backed attempt to force a schism in the FIDE World Chess
         | Championship.
        
         | RandomThoughts3 wrote:
         | He is shareholders of chess.com since they bought out Play
         | Magnus. He is not losing it. He has competing economic
         | interests to FIDE and very little interest into being
         | cooperative with them more than is strictly necessary.
        
       | iambateman wrote:
       | It's a great day for the law-abiding contestants who would never
       | stoop to such sloven. Justice! /s
       | 
       | FIDE is lost in the 80's, and someone else is going to figure out
       | how to make chess an entertainment sport and make a truly
       | enormous amount of money.
        
       | nomilk wrote:
       | Amusing response from Carlsen:
       | 
       | https://x.com/MagnusCarlsen/status/1872819038554148882
       | 
       | FYI 'OOTD' == 'outfit of the day'
        
         | Modified3019 wrote:
         | I love a new anarchy chess meta
        
         | fuzzythinker wrote:
         | That's decent dress jeans too, not like some baggy, hole-y or
         | sloppy jeans.
        
           | matsemann wrote:
           | Some other guy interviewed by Norwegian television also came
           | out from the arbiter room, but he didn't get fined. His pants
           | looked like worn jeans, but since it wasn't denim material
           | (only made to look like ugly jeans) it was ok. Highlights how
           | weird the rules are.
        
           | TacticalCoder wrote:
           | I used to frequent fancy private parties with people who
           | mostly all had money and nobility titles (EU). Unless it was
           | a ball (which I used to go to do) that had a strict dress
           | code, most men had nice cars, nice shoes and... Dress jeans.
        
         | beyondCritics wrote:
         | Tasteful and elegant, but somewhat thought provoking at the
         | same time.
        
       | kevinventullo wrote:
       | I wonder if there is even a single player in the tournament who
       | cares about the dress code. It is hard to imagine anyone who was
       | serious about chess caring about the material a player's pants
       | are made of. No, I think this falls squarely in the realm of
       | bureaucratic administrators who have nothing better to do than
       | assert their power and maintain the illusion of a connection
       | between talent (great chess players) and the trivial signaling
       | games of the upper class (the style of pants one is wearing).
        
         | JellyBeanThief wrote:
         | > I think this falls squarely in the realm of bureaucratic
         | administrators who have nothing better to do than assert their
         | power and maintain the illusion of a connection between talent
         | (great chess players) and the trivial signaling games of the
         | upper class (the style of pants one is wearing).
         | 
         | I concur except about the bureaucratic administrators. I think
         | they do this because the upper class will replace them if they
         | don't do the work of asserting the _upper class 's_ power.
        
         | Modified3019 wrote:
         | I'm sure there are some Type 1's present:
         | https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=SorkIX_ABCo (LocalScriptMan -
         | Writing with the Enneagram: Type 1)
        
         | ttyprintk wrote:
         | The title of the dress code PDF is helpful---something like
         | "proposal of Ms B Marinello".
         | 
         | https://web.archive.org/web/20200925160442id_/https://www.fi...
         | 
         | But I wonder if another player complained to the
         | administrators.
        
           | oofabz wrote:
           | Beatriz Marinello is a professional chess player who was
           | Chilean Women's Chess Champion in 1980 and was vice president
           | of FIDE until 2018.
        
           | glaugh wrote:
           | Possibly this is not the actual dress code? Or I'm missing
           | something.
           | 
           | 3.a. The following is acceptable for men players, captains,
           | head of delegation. -- Suits, ties, dressy pants, trousers,
           | jeans...
           | 
           | 3.b. The following is NOT acceptable for men players,
           | captains, head of delegation. -- Beach-wear slips, profanity
           | and nude or semi-nude pictures printed on shirts, torn pants
           | or jeans...
        
       | geor9e wrote:
       | Not paired for round 9, meaning he was following the dress code
       | for the earlier rounds. Hmmmmmmmmmmmm. Ok Magnus.
        
       | ergonaught wrote:
       | I was pretty happy he didn't cave in to this demand. He accepted
       | the fine and agreed to change for the next game day.
       | 
       | They were being belligerent.
        
       | Brian_K_White wrote:
       | A simple question. Why do people watch chess tournaments?
       | 
       | A: To see administrators administrate.
       | 
       | B: To see chess players play chess.
       | 
       | Someone somewhere has lost sight of a most basic fundamental that
       | everything else they may care about rests on.
        
         | linsomniac wrote:
         | C: To see well dressed people play chess.
        
       | llm_nerd wrote:
       | "At the time of his default, Carlsen had scored 5/8 and was a
       | point and a half behind the leaders, with little chance of
       | retaining his title."
       | 
       | EDIT: I find it hilarious that this is downvoted. It's incredibly
       | cogent to the point. If Magnus was leading the event I guarantee
       | he wouldn't have pursued this distraction.
        
         | thatswrong0 wrote:
         | I've see Magnus come back from behind before. A lot.
         | 
         | He's been fed up with FIDE for a while if you've been paying
         | attention. There's a lot more to this than just his pants.
        
           | llm_nerd wrote:
           | It's an odds thing. He was unlikely to win. There are some
           | very strong opponents. Could he have won? Sure. But note that
           | he didn't protest the dress code at the _beginning_ of the
           | event.
           | 
           | And sure, he's "fed up" with FIDE (in the sense that everyone
           | who thinks they are bigger than a league does). So why did he
           | participate? If he had the purported principles, he should
           | just withdraw from FIDE sanctioned events, no?
        
       | OJFord wrote:
       | > [Carlsen] it became a point of principle
       | 
       | I think if anybody's to be commended for their principle it's
       | probably the organisers? They have their dress code, he violated
       | it, was warned, continued to violate it, and they enforced the
       | rule despite his name.
        
         | llm_nerd wrote:
         | Precisely this. The dress code was not a secret. Once Carlsen
         | had little chance of winning the event he decided to make it
         | about himself with this display. No one should commend this
         | selfish arrogance, and in no universe is it "principle" to
         | exhibit such prima donna behaviour for attention (and to
         | conveniently exit from a likely loss).
         | 
         | Magnus is a tremendous chess player. He's also, by all
         | evidence, a massive asshole, and continuously shows boorish
         | behaviour and terrible sportsmanship.
        
         | Erikun wrote:
         | '[...]Carlsen said: "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. [...]'
         | 
         | I can't even figure out what the principle was.
        
           | adastra22 wrote:
           | They fined/censored him. He accepted the consequence and said
           | "ok, I'll change as soon as I'm back at my hotel." They then
           | hit him with a second infraction, for still being out of
           | dress code.
           | 
           | I'm not a chess dress code rules lawyer, but I think the
           | principle here is that the judge was power tripping and hit
           | him twice for a single dress code violation.
        
             | PokemonNoGo wrote:
             | I'm sorry but now we surely have lost the meaning of the
             | word censored. Now it means not getting to play chess in a
             | tournament?
        
               | chucksmash wrote:
               | Perhaps they meant censure instead of censor.
        
               | o11c wrote:
               | Note especially that in many languages "censor" and
               | "censure" are the same word.
        
               | adastra22 wrote:
               | I did indeed.
        
               | astura wrote:
               | >I'm sorry but now we surely have lost the meaning of the
               | word censored. Now it means not getting to play chess in
               | a tournament?
               | 
               | Yes, we have. That ship has sailed long ago.
               | 
               | But, in this context, specifically, the GP might have
               | meant 'censured' instead of 'censored' and it was
               | autocorrect or mental confusion.
        
               | PokemonNoGo wrote:
               | That makes more sense. Sorry about that.
        
         | throw9383838 wrote:
         | In my experience "dress code" is very selectively enforced. Men
         | are expected to wear very formal dress, that may limit their
         | breathing and body cooling! While women get away with tshirts,
         | sweat pants and flip flops!
         | 
         | This is sport event after all, and he is an athlete!
         | 
         | It is like asking female athletes to wear corset and long
         | dress, because that was traditional dress in Victorian England!
        
         | sammy2255 wrote:
         | Disagree. FIDE's dress code has double standards, there was a
         | dude in chinos made to look like jeans and they were allowed.
         | To me it seems like a very antiquated rule that needs to be
         | reworked/abolished to keep up with the times.
        
           | sapiogram wrote:
           | This rule is new, by the way. There used to be no dress code
           | at all, and it's become increasingly strict in the last few
           | years.
        
             | astura wrote:
             | Was there a reason for implementing it?
        
             | beyondCritics wrote:
             | >This rule is new, by the way.
             | 
             | You can't call a rule new, which is nagging them for nearly
             | a decade now:
             | 
             | https://www.chess.com/news/view/dress-code-incident-at-
             | world...
        
           | OJFord wrote:
           | It's not that I think the dress code is great, I just think
           | it is what it is, and the one's who can say 'it's a matter of
           | principle' (and get my sympathy anyway) are the ones that
           | uphold that written code of the event, and don't waive it for
           | a famous participant; not the famous participant who.. just
           | wants to violate it basically.
        
         | more_corn wrote:
         | The principal is "I should be allowed to wear reasonable
         | everyday attire" Standing by the principle was when faced with
         | an ultimatum: "Change now or else." He chose "Naw, I'll just
         | leave."
        
           | OJFord wrote:
           | I understand that, and I'm saying the organisers also have
           | the dress code principle, and stood by it when faced with 'oh
           | but the violator is a very famous player, and this might make
           | the news tomorrow'.
           | 
           | I think they come off better, personally. I'm not saying that
           | should be the dress code, he shouldn't be allowed to wear
           | jeans or whatever, or even that it's bad of him to decide not
           | to play rather than to play in jeans. I just don't think 'it
           | became a matter of principle' is a great argument for him,
           | because it just makes me think better of the organisers for
           | similarly standing by theirs.
        
             | jstanley wrote:
             | If two people have conflicting principles and both choose
             | to stand by their principles then they'll be in conflict,
             | but you're not obliged to pick a winner.
        
           | lenkite wrote:
           | Also, this is a world rapid blitz tournament - not a
           | "classical" chess tournament. Full length jeans is
           | effectively business casual by today's standards. If a player
           | said they made a mistake because they were late and confirmed
           | that they would change their attire the next day, they should
           | be fined but permitted to play with a warning.
        
         | judofyr wrote:
         | The principle here isn't about the dress code per se (Carlsen
         | hasn't made much fuss about it earlier[1]), but the fact that a
         | minor mistake on his part (he chose the wrong pants) is being
         | punished severely. What would would be wrong with giving him a
         | $200 fine and warning him he would be disqualified if he didn't
         | abide by it next day? Why is it so important to change
         | immediately when you're still very much dressed acceptable?
         | Stressing about your clothing is not what you want to do when
         | you're focused on making a come back.
         | 
         | The reason is (according to Carlsen) of course that FIDE is
         | driven by a strict adherence of <<rules>> which are defined by
         | a small set of people in power. Whenever something happens they
         | always say <<oh, but these are the rules>>, but the process for
         | changing the rules is very one-sided and power driven. This was
         | the straw that broke the camel's back. Yet another example of a
         | silly unnecessary rule.
         | 
         | [1]: In an earlier WC he got stuck in traffic and arrived in
         | ski clothing, but changed after the first round.
        
           | cjbprime wrote:
           | The hotel is three minutes away. He wasn't asked to change
           | immediately, but he was asked to change on the same day.
        
         | wavemode wrote:
         | He didn't protest being fined. Rather, he (and many other
         | pundits) think being forfeited for a dress code violation is
         | outrageous. (And it doesn't even follow the letter of the law -
         | nowhere is it explicitly stated that violating the dress code
         | can lead to forfeiting a round.)
        
           | ttyprintk wrote:
           | Not explicitly, but you're "not allowed to play".
        
       | deskr wrote:
       | What kind of a savage plays competitive chess in jeans!?
        
         | rf15 wrote:
         | I know right? You need a helmet and knee protection at least,
         | it's a rough sport.
        
           | ssl-3 wrote:
           | I understand the necessity for the knee pads, as they clearly
           | help with performing under-the-table negotiations.
           | 
           | But what function does the helmet serve?
        
             | miceareacrutch wrote:
             | Ballistic protection in particularly violent captures.
        
             | deskr wrote:
             | I seem to remember stories back in the day about
             | threatening ashtrays and flipped chessboards. Helmets might
             | not be a bad idea.
        
             | pmontra wrote:
             | Ensure that no AI can beam moves to players brains. Tinfoil
             | helmets, of course.
        
             | OJFord wrote:
             | Clearly you haven't seen _House_!
        
           | nottorp wrote:
           | How about chess boxing?
        
         | DonHopkins wrote:
         | Certainly not the King!
         | 
         | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2DaDziImgY
        
       | bmacho wrote:
       | There is a random puzzle at the middle of the article as the
       | illustration, and the solution at the bottom of the article.
        
         | fredoralive wrote:
         | This appears to be a weekly chess column in the newspaper, and
         | they all seem to have a chess puzzle in them[1]. I suspect in
         | the paper it would be at the end of the column, with the answer
         | on another page. It's perhaps a bit of an inelegant way to
         | present it on the web version, but that's probably some sort of
         | tradeoff with how the Guardian's website works, and if it's
         | worth adding some sort of special case presentation for the
         | chess column, which probably isn't exactly the most read bit of
         | the site.
         | 
         | [1] https://www.theguardian.com/sport/series/leonard-barden-
         | ches...
        
       | david-gpu wrote:
       | The context in which this happened matters a lot.
       | 
       | There have been tensions between the FIDE organization and top
       | players like Carlsen since the latter have been promoting an
       | alternative chess organization around Freestyle chess (aka
       | Chesss960), which has slightly different rules.
       | 
       | I.e. this is less about _" dress code enforcement"_ and it is
       | more about _" Carlsen is fed up with the FIDE organization in
       | general"_.
        
         | SlonBog wrote:
         | Also the context is Magnus wasn't best at this tournament. He
         | was somewhere in middle in table and had less chances of
         | converting. He has history of throwing tantrums when on tilt
         | (Seinqfield 2022)
        
           | david-gpu wrote:
           | It is also his first Christmas after his mother's passing, so
           | I think it is fair to say that he's under a lot of stress
           | already.
           | 
           | We will see how other players react today. Will they wear
           | jeans in protest?
        
             | tromp wrote:
             | Why would you protest against enforcement of the rules that
             | everyone was aware of and agreed to by participating?
             | 
             | I agree that rules against jeans make limited sense. It
             | makes more sense to forbid worn down or shabby looking
             | attire. But one should abide by the rules one signs up to.
        
               | wizzwizz4 wrote:
               | > _But one should abide by the rules one signs up to._
               | 
               | If it's the only competition in town, and the rules are
               | unjust, and the organisation in question considers you #1
               | chess player in the world... I can hardly imagine better
               | circumstances for civil disobedience.
        
               | sadeshmukh wrote:
               | I thought this only happened 9 or so games in?
        
           | delroth wrote:
           | He was 2.5/3 the day he was fined (then forbidden to play)
           | for his dress code violation, and was around rank 25 after
           | game 8, one point behind first place. Not a winning
           | performance but not particularly bad either.
        
           | stavros wrote:
           | How come? I thought he was the best in the world by a fair
           | margin.
        
             | n2d4 wrote:
             | In classical chess, yes; in Blitz and Rapid he's still one
             | of the best, but there's lots of good competition.
        
               | stavros wrote:
               | Ahh I missed that this wasn't classical, thank you.
        
               | fastasucan wrote:
               | He is both the current rapid (5 times) and blitz (7
               | times) world champion. He is more than one of the best.
        
               | elif wrote:
               | And his freestyle performance was clearly shoulders ahead
               | his peers
        
               | n2d4 wrote:
               | Sure, but he's not invincible like in Classic; those 7
               | wins aren't consecutive (he lost in 2021 and won 22 &
               | 23), meanwhile he's won every classical championship
               | since 2013 (until he stopped playing in 2023).
        
               | ANewFormation wrote:
               | His edge in rapid/blitz is generally seen as much larger
               | than in classical.
               | 
               | One of the biggest examples of this was in his title
               | defense against Caruana. Every game of that match had
               | been drawn, and in the final game Magnus had a very
               | promising position where he could squeeze with basically
               | no risk.
               | 
               | Instead he offered a draw which was immediately accepted.
               | That sent the game to rapid tie breaks where he casually
               | butchered Caruana 3-0.
        
               | n2d4 wrote:
               | That's because Caruana was a bad Blitz player though; on
               | the elo rankings, Carlsen's lead is (and usually tends to
               | be) smaller in Blitz.
        
             | bluecalm wrote:
             | He is by far the best in all formats but there is some luck
             | in chess and the best player doesn't always win - like in
             | most competitive games/sports.
        
               | elif wrote:
               | Luck is an interesting way of phrasing what can be simply
               | described as pure neurological deficiencies. Your
               | opponents brain forgot to go down a crazy sacrifice line
               | which was actually M6. Is that luck?
               | 
               | Or is it a comparative grey matter evaluation in time and
               | pressure constraints?
        
         | ANewFormation wrote:
         | Exactly, many top players (probably all of them, but some only
         | speak on such issues indirectly) feel FIDE is increasingly
         | power tripping and somewhat out of touch with both the game and
         | the interests of the players.
         | 
         | During Kasparov's era sentiment was similar and ultimately an
         | entirely new players' association with their own world
         | championship cycle was created. In the end they reunified with
         | FIDE, but we're back on the trajectory for something like that
         | to happen again.
         | 
         | I would wager alot that chess.com is strategizing behind the
         | scenes about ways to become that replacement.
        
         | Someone wrote:
         | Chances are there also is a commercial angle to it. Magnus has
         | commercial interests in https://playmagnusgroup.com/, which is
         | somewhat at competition with the FIDE.
        
           | soegaard wrote:
           | If I understand correctly Play Magnus Group was acquired by
           | chess.com in 2022.
           | 
           | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Play_Magnus_Group
        
         | FrustratedMonky wrote:
         | Sure. Beef with an organization.
         | 
         | But if you are going to bother signing up, is 'jeans' really
         | the hill to die on?
         | 
         | If the beef is with the organization, just boycott altogether.
         | 
         | Otherwise, just put on some pants.
         | 
         | EDIT:
         | 
         | Perhaps the downvotes are because of disagreement with methods
         | of protest?
         | 
         | What brings greater attention to your cause?
         | 
         | 1. A boycott, you just don't go to the event? And make a press
         | statement about it, that probably doesn't get any headlines.
         | 
         | or
         | 
         | 2. Sign up, go, then angrily get disqualified, based on some
         | stupid rule, which gets a lot of headlines, and attention
         | focused on silly rules of the organization?
         | 
         | Guess, if the goal was to effect change, then maybe this was
         | the correct move. But if it was just being pissi, then why
         | bother signing up, you know the rules, so just don't go.
        
           | reaperducer wrote:
           | _Otherwise, just put on some pants._
           | 
           | I agree. This isn't high school rebellion. Is the real world.
           | 
           | Adults dress appropriately for different places and different
           | times. You can be denied admission to a restaurant, a
           | business, an office meeting, or even a concert for not
           | dressing appropriately. This is no different.
           | 
           | Grow up and put on some pants. Be sloppy in your own home.
        
             | ruthmarx wrote:
             | Jeans are pants and wearing them isn't sloppy.
        
               | SoftTalker wrote:
               | I've had jobs where I'd absolutely be sent home if I
               | turned up wearing jeans. Might be a little less likely
               | these days but there are many jobs and situations where
               | this still applies.
               | 
               | It's also about showing respect to the host, you dress
               | nicely. Would you wear jeans to church or to a wedding?
        
               | jncfhnb wrote:
               | You, as chump trying to get a a job, are not similar to
               | Magnus, the greatest chess player of all time, trying to
               | play in a chess tournament. FIDE is well within their
               | rights to demand he not wear jeans. Magnus is well within
               | his rights to tell them to fuck off. FIDE loses more
               | here.
        
               | BoxFour wrote:
               | I was a groomsman at a wedding where someone showed up in
               | jeans.
               | 
               | Japes abounded and some of the more conservative family
               | members were giving severe side-eye, but at no point was
               | it suggested that he be sent home. He showed up in jeans
               | (offense), we gave him a lot of ribbing that he took in
               | good stride (punishment).
               | 
               | The appropriate response to offenses like this doesn't
               | have to be banishment.
        
               | voidfunc wrote:
               | It's been twenty years since I went to church... but yes
               | I wore jeans.
        
               | MrDrMcCoy wrote:
               | > Would you wear jeans to church or a wedding?
               | 
               | Where I'm from, this is normal. There are even
               | theological cases to be made against dress codes in
               | church, beyond "don't show up naked" and similar basics.
               | 
               | If your "host" has unreasonable expectations, then it is
               | on some level unreasonable to follow them.
        
           | Enginerrrd wrote:
           | Similarly, is a stupid rule about the type of fabric of a
           | players pants really the hill to die on enforcement-wise?
           | Discretion is a thing. Jeans has NOTHING to do with playing
           | chess.
        
             | thatswrong0 wrote:
             | Especially when others are wearing chinos that look like
             | jeans.
             | 
             | Discretion should be a thing.
             | 
             | This being a thing at all certainly proves Magnus' point.
             | Its not 1970.
        
         | vikingerik wrote:
         | Just to clarify on the facts, as gathered from reddit threads:
         | 
         | He wasn't trying to protest the dress code or make a scene, it
         | wasn't on his mind at all. He had been out for an appearance
         | with a sponsor during a break, then came back to the venue for
         | the next round, and didn't notice that he was wearing jeans and
         | it didn't cross his mind that that would be a violation.
         | 
         | Then he was told to change, and there wasn't enough time for
         | him to go do that before the upcoming round. He thought he was
         | told he could do it either after that round or for the next
         | day, but then was told he would be excluded from that round,
         | and at that point he said f--- it and withdrew entirely.
         | 
         | The controversy was about exactly how the penalty is imposed.
         | The rule is a fine for the first violation and disqualification
         | for multiple. It wasn't clear if his appearance for the day
         | would count as one violation (so he could just incur the fine
         | and wear correct clothing tomorrow), or if each round would be
         | a separate violation. It also wasn't clear if he could play
         | while in violation or would be excluded from each round until
         | he changed. Precedent from other events wasn't clear for either
         | of these.
         | 
         | The headline of "disqualified" is wrong and did not happen - he
         | chose to withdraw.
        
           | ngcc_hk wrote:
           | Based on what you said, IMHO may I say this is just a way to
           | disqualifying hime, as he cannot enter into the round in
           | time. That is effective disqualifying. Do not know details
           | but losing a whole round ... can he recover even. Hence, I
           | still ok with disqualifying.
           | 
           | I am not sure knowing the rule but really have jean ... it is
           | crazy rule in any case.
        
             | cjbprime wrote:
             | There was no time shortage -- he was asked to change with
             | hours to do it and a hotel that was three minutes away. He
             | said he was refusing "as a matter of principle", not that
             | he didn't have enough time to change.
        
           | epgui wrote:
           | The only part of this that is totally implausible is the
           | notion that Magnus wouldn't be super familiar with the rules.
           | 
           | I'm not saying I agree with the rule or the specific way it
           | was applied... But Magnus definitely knows the rules.
           | 
           | Edit: for people downvoting... Can you please explain how the
           | world's best chess player of all times wouldn't be familiar
           | with FIDE rules? How is that even plausible? All of the
           | players who compete at these events know the rules.
        
             | wirrbel wrote:
             | He knows the rules, IMHO it's his way of pulling out of
             | FIDE competitions without a face loss.
             | 
             | Not very sportsmanlike behaviour, I must say (and I am
             | saying this as someone who admires MC).
        
               | beepbopboopp wrote:
               | How are you going to invent his intentions and then judge
               | him for your inventions? This message board deserves
               | better, the people deserve better.
        
               | epgui wrote:
               | While I don't think it's fair to presume anything about
               | his intentions, it's totally fair to presume he is aware
               | of the rules. He's the world's best chess player of all
               | time, and it's not his first FIDE event.
        
               | codr7 wrote:
               | I think it's totally fair to ask the question, given that
               | he seems to be involved in starting a competing
               | organization.
        
               | bbarnett wrote:
               | I don't think the prior was a valid tact, but aren't
               | people here inventing reasons for the jeans ban, and then
               | judging the org for that too?
        
               | monkey_monkey wrote:
               | Given that he removed himself from the World Chess
               | Championship, the thought that he needs a pretext to pull
               | out of lesser competitions is ludicrous.
        
               | cjbprime wrote:
               | Given the other ways he's currently in conflict in FIDE,
               | the idea is that he finds being disqualified in this way
               | strategically useful, and a way to garner public
               | sentiment that delegitimizes them.
        
               | david-gpu wrote:
               | Magnus didn't make FIDE enforce a particularly asinine
               | interpretation of their own rules. If they wanted to,
               | they could have issued a clarification or rectification
               | in the 24 hours after the event, but they haven't.
               | 
               | Both parties could have handled this much better.
        
               | epgui wrote:
               | > "a particularly asinine interpretation of their own
               | rules"
               | 
               | It's pretty black and white.                   4.10.1.3.
               | No players with t-shirts, jeans, shorts,
               | sneakers, baseball caps or inappropriate dress are
               | allowed         in the playing area. Any requests to wear
               | national or         traditional dress shall be approved
               | by FIDE Supervisor.
               | 
               | Reference: https://www.fide.com/docs/regulations/wrbc_reg
               | ulations_2024_...
        
               | david-gpu wrote:
               | Thank you! I stand corrected. I had missed that portion
               | of your quote.
        
               | epgui wrote:
               | I apologize for twisting the knife but-- the proper thing
               | to do would have been to research the rules at the
               | source, not to make up stuff or repeat things from third
               | parties.
               | 
               | Wish I had found that section earlier, but I'm less
               | familiar with the chess regulations so it took me a bit
               | to assemble all of the essential parts.
        
               | david-gpu wrote:
               | _> I apologize for twisting the knife but-- the proper
               | thing to do would have been to research the rules at the
               | source, not to make up stuff or repeat things from third
               | parties._
               | 
               | Well, you are the one who posted the quote, which I used
               | as the basis for my comment. I thought I had read it
               | twice over, and saw no reference to jeans, hence my
               | question. Not statement, _question_. I did not make
               | anything up.
               | 
               | Did you by any chance add the relevant section of the
               | rules to your comment after I asked a question? The
               | _proper thing to do_ would have been to quote the
               | relevant portion of the rules, instead of adding that
               | later.
               | 
               | So, no. Apologies not accepted. Sorry.
        
               | elif wrote:
               | This is fully unsubstantiated and very unlikely
               | supposition for anyone following the chess scene
        
             | elif wrote:
             | The rules themselves aren't clear. In fact the rules say
             | that jeans themselves are allowed. The rule is about having
             | frayed worn, or light portions on jeans.
             | 
             | Magnus pants were fine. He is absolutely correct that they
             | were singling him out and you can look back to many recent
             | tournaments to see the clear double standard.
        
               | epgui wrote:
               | The rules say no such thing, and seem pretty clear to me.
               | 4.10.1. The dress code is strictly observed for the
               | tournament and all the official events and press
               | conferences.              4.10.1.1. Dress code for men.
               | Shoes: Oxfords, loafers, leather shoes or boots, classic
               | suite shoes.                Dark-coloured pants: black,
               | navy, grey, beige, brown, in         any case
               | unicoloured. No bright colours.                Long-
               | sleeved light-coloured (white, light blue, beige,
               | brown, etc.), blue or black shirt, in any case
               | unicoloured. No bright colours.                Dark-
               | coloured jacket, waistcoat or cardigan with
               | buttons: black, navy, grey, beige, brown, in any case
               | unicoloured. No bright colours.                Jacket,
               | waistcoat or cardigan may be taken off during
               | play.              Tie is not mandatory.
               | [...]              4.10.1.3. No players with t-shirts,
               | jeans, shorts,         sneakers, baseball caps or
               | inappropriate dress are allowed         in the playing
               | area. Any requests to wear national or
               | traditional dress shall be approved by FIDE Supervisor.
               | [...]              4.10.9. If a player fails to fulfil
               | his/her duties listed         in Articles 4.10.1, 4.10.4
               | - 4.10.8, he/she can be         penalised by FIDE Council
               | as follows: 5% of his/her prize         money shall be
               | forfeited to the Organiser and a further 5%         to
               | FIDE for each breach. In cases of serious misconduct,
               | the player may be disqualified from the event.
               | 
               | Reference: https://www.fide.com/docs/regulations/wrbc_reg
               | ulations_2024_...
        
               | david-gpu wrote:
               | So it says nothing about jeans at all? Magnus was wearing
               | unicoloured navy jeans at the time, which fall within the
               | rules you quoted.
               | 
               | Refusing to match him with a competitor because of this,
               | effectively preventing him to compete, was
               | disproportionate regardless.
               | 
               | Edit: I see you added a section that specifically
               | disallows jeans after I posted my comment. We could have
               | saved some time.
        
               | epgui wrote:
               | I thought it was clear from the context and phrasing that
               | "dark-coloured pants" excluded jeans, but in case there
               | was any doubt:                   4.10.1.3. No players
               | with t-shirts, jeans, shorts,         sneakers, baseball
               | caps or inappropriate dress are allowed         in the
               | playing area. Any requests to wear national or
               | traditional dress shall be approved by FIDE Supervisor.
               | 
               | Reference: https://www.fide.com/docs/regulations/wrbc_reg
               | ulations_2024_...
        
               | david-gpu wrote:
               | Thank you, I had missed the section about jeans. I stand
               | corrected.
        
               | munch117 wrote:
               | To a Norwegian reader, blue jeans are definitely included
               | in "pants".
               | 
               | It's entirely possible to read 4.10.1.1, conclude that
               | blue jeans are fine, and then skim over 4.10.1.3.
               | 
               | However the Carlsens read it, after reading it, years
               | will have passed. Carlsen didn't dress like he did after
               | a studious read of the rules. He just put on some nice
               | clothes that were no different from what he usually wears
               | at tournaments.
               | 
               | Except he forgot a belt. A proper organiser would have
               | offered to lend him one.
        
               | epgui wrote:
               | I would assume (but can't know for sure, of course) that
               | Magnus receives the rules before every event, and that he
               | probably has people to help prepare/brief him on anything
               | he needs to know.
               | 
               | He's not a regular participant, Magnus is almost an
               | institution of his own.
               | 
               | Either way, it's literally his job to follow the FIDE
               | rules (which is unusual but true), and he's the best in
               | the world at his job.
               | 
               | ---
               | 
               | > "It's entirely possible to read 4.10.1.1, conclude that
               | blue jeans are fine, and then skim over 4.10.1.3."
               | 
               | In all fairness I originally did the same, so I hear ya.
               | But I'm not a pro at this.
        
               | RandomThoughts3 wrote:
               | > He's not a regular participant, Magnus is almost an
               | institution of his own.
               | 
               | He is also very much no in agreement with FIDE (a
               | tradition for chess champions - see Fischer, Kasparov).
               | And to be honest FIDE is on FIFA level when it comes to
               | being dodgy as an organisation so it's hardly surprising.
        
             | stevage wrote:
             | Not true at all. I've seen Hikaru talk about how he doesn't
             | usually read the rules of tournaments and has been
             | surprised by them.
        
               | epgui wrote:
               | I would find that a bit surprising. Do you happen to
               | remember where you heard him say this?
        
               | michaelt wrote:
               | Sounds plausible enough to me.
               | 
               | I don't read the license agreement of every bit of
               | software or the privacy policy of every website, after
               | all.
        
               | epgui wrote:
               | I think this is more akin to reading the rules of a
               | formal assembly before participating (eg.: a senate or a
               | formal committee). These guys do chess events for a
               | living. :shrug:
        
           | afro88 wrote:
           | This is silly. Surely a GM knows the rules. You can't say the
           | facts are he wasn't doing it in protest or wasn't trying to
           | make a scene.
           | 
           | The facts are he violated the dress code rule and then
           | withdrew when it was enforced. He then mentioned his FIDE
           | alternative in the ensuing press coverage.
           | 
           | Edit: also, on paper, him attending a sponsor event and then
           | violating a rule at the competition because he "didn't have
           | time to change" speaks volumes about his priorities.
        
             | mvdtnz wrote:
             | What's "silly" is that such a dress code exists at all in
             | 2024. What a bunch of uptight dorkwads.
        
               | conception wrote:
               | Dress-codes can be about more than morality. In a game of
               | intense concentration having distracting clothing could
               | be a distraction. It's not like every professional sport
               | doesn't have a dress code.
        
               | barbazoo wrote:
               | > It is important to promote a good and positive image of
               | chess. Attire worn during all phases of the championships
               | and events should be in good taste and appropriate to
               | such a prestigious chess event.
               | 
               | That's the "objective" according to https://www.fide.com/
               | images/stories/NEWS_2013/FIDE/Proposal_....
        
               | wordofx wrote:
               | What a load of crap. If someone is distracted by a
               | persons attire then they probably are going to be
               | distracted by other players playing, people walking
               | around, noise.
               | 
               | This is nothing more than a dumb outdated rule. He wore
               | jeans. Not a fluorescent jump suit.
        
               | rudiksz wrote:
               | Yes, a resourceful chess player could gain an upper hand
               | over any opponent who might have a jeans fetish. And we
               | can't have that, can we.
        
         | qq66 wrote:
         | The other piece of context that's worth noting is that Carlsen
         | is not as good as he used to be (he's still the best player in
         | the world, but not by as big of a margin as he was 5-10 years
         | ago) and that he seems to getting increasingly exasperated with
         | chess itself. Every GOAT eventually retires in a different type
         | of way (Kasparov, Anand, Karpov, all did it a bit differently)
         | and Carlsen's might be coming up soon.
        
           | Maxatar wrote:
           | This doesn't hold up to a cursory analysis of Carlsen's
           | rating. You can see Carlsen's historical ELO score on FIDE's
           | website and look at it year over year and the difference
           | between Carlsen and the #2, #3, #4, etc... is pretty
           | consistent and very impressive. Usually the difference
           | between a player ranked N and a player ranked N + 1 is about
           | 5-10 ELO points, but Carlsen's is consistently 30+ including
           | at this moment.
           | 
           | https://ratings.fide.com/top_lists.phtml
        
           | cjbprime wrote:
           | Even Gukesh, crowned world champion recently, says Carlsen is
           | the best player in the world.
        
           | elif wrote:
           | While it's true that chess is a young man's game, Magnus has
           | not lost his ability to flow absolute dookie positions into
           | mate like no one else under any controls.
        
           | epolanski wrote:
           | Anand is still active.
        
         | oreilles wrote:
         | Chesss960 doesn't have "slightly different rules" than chess,
         | it's a variant where all the pieces are randomnly positioned at
         | the start of each match... It's basically playing a completely
         | different game, and one the FIDE has absolutely zero interest
         | in. Freestyle and FIDE organization are not in competition.
        
           | david-gpu wrote:
           | _> Chesss960 doesn 't have "slightly different rules" than
           | chess, it's a variant where all the pieces are randomnly
           | positioned at the start of each match_
           | 
           | For the 99% people who don't know what it is, I figured than
           | _" slightly different rules"_ was a reasonable summary.
           | 
           |  _> Freestyle and FIDE organization are not in competition._
           | 
           | You may want to ask yourself why FIDE is acting like they are
           | indeed in competition. Perhaps they see something that you
           | don't? Several top players getting behind Freestyle chess
           | probably has something to do with it.
        
           | sobriquet9 wrote:
           | If it is a completely different game, why are all strongest
           | players the same?
        
         | 14 wrote:
         | Couldn't it also be worded - I.e this is less about "dress code
         | enforcement " and is more about FIDE fed up that Carlson is
         | promoting alternative chess organizations - ?
        
       | vouaobrasil wrote:
       | I think the dress code is stupid. But if he were against it, he
       | should not have attended at all. To attend and make a scene is
       | just about publicity. It touches the superficial thread of
       | rebellion without being respectable or commendable.
        
         | enkid wrote:
         | Seems like publicity is the point. Getting headlines is a lot
         | more likely to change something then just skipping the
         | tournament.
        
         | cbg0 wrote:
         | On the other hand, this is the most impactful way to change
         | antiquated rules.
        
           | vouaobrasil wrote:
           | That is true.
        
         | viraptor wrote:
         | Rules don't get changed due to people quietly saying "I don't
         | like this rule" while staying at home. Public rebellion is what
         | gets the job done. Protests that don't inconvenience anyone are
         | irrelevant.
        
           | Aachen wrote:
           | Would it have been quiet if the defending champion decides to
           | stay at home and when someone asks him he says it's because
           | of a disagreement about the event's rules? Wouldn't that have
           | gone around and raised the issue/discussion?
           | 
           | I'm still undecided who's right here or who should have done
           | what: I'm not for stupid dress codes, but it also seems silly
           | to get hung up over if you can easily comply at no detriment
           | to your performance or anything, so idk, just saying that it
           | does seem like an option to stay home if you disagree when
           | you're someone whose absence would be very conspicuous
        
             | cwillu wrote:
             | We wouldn't be talking about it here, and I suggest that
             | the same is true across many other forums that aren't
             | specifically focused on chess.
        
           | vouaobrasil wrote:
           | That is true, I won't argue there.
        
       | unsupp0rted wrote:
       | Chess is supposed to be a game for smart people.
       | 
       | Why would smart people care about denim vs. trousers?
       | 
       | Let competitors wear pajamas- it makes no difference.
        
         | booleandilemma wrote:
         | It's a game of concentration, and what you wear could affect
         | people's concentration. Better to just stick to a dress code.
        
           | jfengel wrote:
           | Man, it would be weird if they showed up covered in patches
           | like a NASCAR driver or pro poker player.
           | 
           | I'm usually not one to stand on formality but that does feel
           | kinda gross.
        
         | menotyou wrote:
         | > Why would smart people care about denim vs. trousers?
         | 
         | Mostly it's about the sponsors. It's much more difficult to get
         | sponsors for an event if the participants are dressed like they
         | slept in their clothes. That's why organizers try to impose
         | minimal standards on dresscodes.
         | 
         | Jeans and sneakers are maybe debatable, but players showed up
         | with cargo pants, shorts or tank tops on other events.
         | 
         | In the FIDE regulation for that event jeans were explicitly
         | mentioned as not allowed. FIDE would have made a fool out of
         | themselves when allowing Magnus to wear the jeans.
        
           | pixelatedindex wrote:
           | > Mostly it's about the sponsors. It's much more difficult to
           | get sponsors for an event if the participants are dressed
           | like they slept in their clothes.
           | 
           | Would be interesting if they can get mattress companies or
           | apparel companies that have good comfy clothes as sponsors.
           | Why not play chess on a firm mattress?
        
             | elif wrote:
             | My brother was wearing a formal shirt and suit jacket.
        
           | trollied wrote:
           | Not sure I agree. Chess has moved towards a much younger
           | audience over the last 5 years, and is incredibly popular
           | now. Gets 10s of thousands of viewers on Twitch, for example
           | & there are many players that could be seen as modern day
           | celebrities in their own right.
           | 
           | FIDE needs to embrace the younger generation that think the
           | game is cool. Ancient dress codes are a distraction.
        
             | dist-epoch wrote:
             | Where do you draw the line though. Is dressing in a swim
             | suit allowable?
        
               | foldr wrote:
               | Other environments manage more casual dress codes without
               | too much difficulty. I can't wear a swimsuit to the
               | office but I can wear jeans. No-one seems especially
               | confused about where the line is.
        
               | onemoresoop wrote:
               | There's quite a difference between casual clothes and
               | dressing indecently. IMO jeans are fine as long as
               | they're inconspicuous (such as raggy jeans with holes in
               | them or worn in such a way that the buttocks are showing)
               | for such an event. Swimsuits are for a different type of
               | event where if you're showing up in trousers they would
               | disqualify you.
        
               | motorest wrote:
               | > Where do you draw the line though. Is dressing in a
               | swim suit allowable?
               | 
               | Textbook slippery slope fallacy.
               | 
               | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slippery_slope
        
           | PUSH_AX wrote:
           | You've stated this as a matter of fact, but do you have a
           | source, or are you speculating?
        
           | Modified3019 wrote:
           | They'd made a fool out of themselves by disallowing jeans
        
           | jncfhnb wrote:
           | FIDE looks a lot more foolish having the greatest and most
           | famous chess player reject them over a dispute about
           | clothing.
           | 
           | Also, he looked very sharp in his outfit with the jeans.
           | Frankly it was a better ensemble than I'd look in one of my
           | suits.
        
           | gpm wrote:
           | It seems rather harder to get sponsors when you can no longer
           | attract the best player in the world to your tournaments.
           | That they made much more of a fool out of themselves by
           | holding "world championships" without attracting the
           | undisputed best player in the world to them.
           | 
           | This looks to me like a case where FIDE got greedy and forgot
           | to balance the talents interests with the sponsors.
        
         | aprilthird2021 wrote:
         | Because smart people realize that all associations and
         | organizations have rules and showing strangers that you follow
         | the rules is an easy way to signal across languages and
         | cultures that you are all there for the same reason
        
           | jfengel wrote:
           | Chess itself is a collection of very arbitrary rules.
           | 
           | They happen to be rules that people decided are fun, or
           | interesting, or something. If the dress code isn't fun they
           | should change it.
           | 
           | And for that matter... this tournament is a blitz game,
           | itself a change of rules. Perhaps it would be well suited to
           | a change in dress code. Formal clothes for classic chess.
           | Show up in your PJs for a game that takes as long as brushing
           | your teeth.
        
         | kybernetyk wrote:
         | >Chess is supposed to be a game for smart people.
         | 
         | Rather for people with a really good memory. Which, to me,
         | makes the game extremely boring and bland.
        
           | paulcole wrote:
           | I agree with you in a way.
           | 
           | Chess to me is boring because the better player should
           | win/draw unless they blunder. And we (generally) know who the
           | better player is because of ratings.
           | 
           | I've always much preferred games that in the short run have a
           | luck component that can create massive swings (poker,
           | backgammon, Scrabble) and inequality.
        
           | thatswrong0 wrote:
           | It's funny because that's partly what this a LOT about. FIDE,
           | the defacto governing body of chess, wants freestyle chess
           | (aka 960 aka Fischer random, which does lot to fix the memory
           | issue you're talking about) to not be allowed to have a
           | "world championship".
           | 
           | And that attitude led us to these honestly inane events.
        
           | nottorp wrote:
           | Something like that. I was interested in chess until i
           | realized you have to memorize all those openings to play with
           | the 'serious' people.
           | 
           | I'd play some Go but I have almost no one to play with
           | casually. And since I play for fun, online isn't so good.
        
         | PUSH_AX wrote:
         | > Chess is supposed to be a game for smart people.
         | 
         | Chess is for everyone, my 5 year old plays chess. Being world
         | class is another thing.
        
           | ilbeeper wrote:
           | Basketball is a game for tall people. Lifting is a sport for
           | strong people. Chess is a game for smart people. Is that
           | controversial or incompatible with 5 year old kids playing
           | chess?
        
             | PUSH_AX wrote:
             | It's false is what it is.
        
               | ilbeeper wrote:
               | All three sentences or only the one about chess?
        
         | ttyprintk wrote:
         | On the womens' side, the biggest FIDE sponsor is breast
         | enhancement surgery. That makes women's choice of shirts
         | important for the sponsor's marketing. Maybe these rules are
         | trying to signal that the attention is spread across men as
         | well.
        
         | gradus_ad wrote:
         | Why wouldn't smart people care about appearances? If the
         | organization and participants desire to present themselves as
         | dignified and worthy of respect, a certain standard of dress is
         | appropriate.
         | 
         | More generally, appearances are important because they are
         | clear signs of attention and care. Something worth our respect
         | is worth dressing up for, and a collective dressing up
         | reinforces the importance and elevation of a given event or
         | moment over other events or moments of lesser import.
        
           | trollied wrote:
           | Times have changed. Offices used to be full of people in full
           | suits, with trousers. Now it is common for CEOs to wear
           | jeans, and offices are much more tailored to working
           | comfortably, rather than having a "posh" facade.
        
           | notfed wrote:
           | Are jeans undignified or disrespectful?
        
             | epgui wrote:
             | It doesn't really matter, regardless of whether or not we
             | agree with the rules, jeans are clearly prohibited in the
             | tournament:                   4.10.1.3. No players with
             | t-shirts, jeans, shorts,         sneakers, baseball caps or
             | inappropriate dress are allowed         in the playing
             | area. Any requests to wear national or         traditional
             | dress shall be approved by FIDE Supervisor.
             | 
             | Reference: https://www.fide.com/docs/regulations/wrbc_regul
             | ations_2024_...
        
           | nottorp wrote:
           | > More generally, appearances are important because they are
           | clear signs of attention and care.
           | 
           | Attention and care for appearances, not for the job to be
           | done.
           | 
           | One could interpret it that the sharp looks are there as a
           | cover for ... less than stellar competence.
           | 
           | You cannot win with statements like that.
        
         | frou_dh wrote:
         | > Let competitors wear pajamas- it makes no difference.
         | 
         | Ah yes the wonderful "everything is equally valid"
         | postmodernism. Why don't the organisers subscribe to that? They
         | must be dumb-dumbs.
        
         | mrweasel wrote:
         | Most sports have dress codes. Some for obvious reasons, such as
         | team sports where the players need to be able to identify each
         | other, but others because they want things to look professional
         | and more organised.
         | 
         | Take a sport like rowing. Technically there's no reason why all
         | the rowers in a boat needs to be dressed identically, but it
         | looks more professional.
        
         | DrewADesign wrote:
         | > Why would smart people care about denim vs. trousers?
         | 
         | Prescriptive contest rules suck, but I don't like the attitude
         | endemic to nerds that _truly_ smart people don't care about
         | personal aesthetic. There's no more honor in not caring how you
         | look than there is in not caring about food or fine art. I have
         | friends that are smart, capable professionals that look like
         | they only get new clothes when their mom notices their shirts
         | exceed the totinos pizza roll stain threshold and drags them to
         | Bob's-- whether it's at home, work, wedding, date night, court,
         | the gym, the club, a con, etc. You'd expect them to reject
         | people's tendency to judge people on their looks, but
         | ironically, they deem anyone that puts any effort into their
         | appearance (a.k.a. doesn't solely _dress for comfort_ )
         | shallow, unintelligent, and boring. Predictably, gender
         | expectations play a huge part.
        
           | jncfhnb wrote:
           | https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/ace/ws/800/cpsprodpb/db4b/live/61d6.
           | ..
           | 
           | His outfit is sharp as hell Fwiw
        
           | Invictus0 wrote:
           | It's a shibboleth for ugly people; since they can't "win" on
           | their looks, they opt not to play that game at all and need
           | to loudly brag about their superiority over the vapid
           | "fashion police".
        
       | viraptor wrote:
       | Reminds me of Ronnie O'Sullivan offending the snooker association
       | by taking off shoes
       | https://www.espn.co.uk/snooker/story/_/id/12736342/ronnie-os... I
       | hope silly enforcement like that dies out.
        
         | propter_hoc wrote:
         | Or similarly, how he was accused of 'bringing the game of
         | snooker into disrepute' by taking a shot with his left hand
         | (and then playing three perfect games left-handed)
         | http://en.espn.co.uk/snooker/sport/player/1241.html
        
           | ivanjermakov wrote:
           | Ironically he himself inspired thousands to watch and play
           | snooker, myself included.
        
       | dist-epoch wrote:
       | There was similar drama exactly a year ago recently about a woman
       | chess player wearing "sport shoes":
       | https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/28/world/asia/chess-fine-sho...
        
         | boothby wrote:
         | The rules specifically said "dress to impress" and she wore
         | thousand dollar shoes. Ridiculous. Good for Magnus, somebody
         | needs to take a stand and he's got the clout to do so.
        
           | reaperducer wrote:
           | _The rules specifically said "dress to impress" and she wore
           | thousand dollar shoes._
           | 
           | Maybe not everyone is impressed by money?
        
             | tremon wrote:
             | Then the rules should have been more specific?
        
             | boothby wrote:
             | That's an abuse of quantifiers, and an interesting one. You
             | suggest that the judges become literal fashion police, each
             | individual with the authority to remove a contestant whose
             | clothes are not impressive in their personal opinion. That
             | should indeed be protested against; it's a chess tournament
             | and not a fashion show.
             | 
             | The word "to" is commonly interpreted to mean "for the
             | purpose of" in this context. That is, the contestant should
             | put effort into making their appearance impressive. Which,
             | I also find offensive, but to a lesser degree.
             | 
             | I'd propose that they certainly aren't "sport" sneakers,
             | which is what she got dinged for. Unless you're a multi-
             | millionaire playing tennis in a country club, I guess --
             | but the only reason a person would wear those particular
             | shoes in sport would be to impress their peers.
             | 
             | And if you're not personally impressed by money, how would
             | you interpret the "dress to impress" guideline? Would you
             | find _any_ shoes to be impressive? Perhaps no shoes at all?
             | I 'd lean towards 6" platforms, myself, as some people find
             | tallness impressive.
        
               | reaperducer wrote:
               | _You suggest that the judges become literal fashion
               | police, each individual with the authority to remove a
               | contestant whose clothes are not impressive in their
               | personal opinion._
               | 
               | See also: Tennis. Schools. Restaurants. Courtrooms.
               | Offices. Stores. Even public sidewalks.
               | 
               | Welcome to society.
        
         | astura wrote:
         | For God's sake, no pictures of the shoes in that article, just
         | a link to a long ass video where she allegedly holds them up.
         | Im not watching a 20 minute video to see shoes.
         | 
         | At least the Daily Fail has pictures -
         | https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12908497/Chess-kaza...
        
           | 3eb7988a1663 wrote:
           | Doing a real service to humanity.
           | 
           | Also - those shoes are ugly. Yet, I would not think twice
           | about appropriateness. Would seem fine to wear to work, a
           | funeral, or a state function.
        
       | 23B1 wrote:
       | I love watching institutions cling to silly little rules to the
       | point where it actually hurts them. It's a perfect demonstration
       | of the problems with groupthink.
        
         | roelschroeven wrote:
         | I think it's not so much groupthink, but rather that those
         | institutions feel the need to make themselves look important
         | and essential to the sport, instead of being there to
         | facilitate the sport.
        
           | 23B1 wrote:
           | I would argue that groupthink is an umbrella term for what
           | you describe; another might be 'bureaucracy' when used
           | pejoratively, heh.
        
       | blagie wrote:
       | Kudos to Magnus for taking the high ground in such a low way :)
       | 
       | Western dress codes are obnoxious. People shouldn't be evaluated
       | for how they look or what they wear, at least in a competitive
       | event like this one, but rather on how they play. He's absolutely
       | right to be principled about this.
       | 
       | At the same time, how he did it has such a touch of rebellious
       | style.
        
         | motorest wrote:
         | > Western dress codes are obnoxious.
         | 
         | I don't know why you feel this is relevant. The issue is
         | clearly not about dress codes, let alone "western dress codes".
         | Your comment reads like a desperate attempt to take a cheap
         | stab at "western" things.
        
           | mam2 wrote:
           | I'm the opposite of woke but he's not wrong that suits are a
           | western thing and and enforcing it as if it's universal is a
           | bit pushy
        
             | motorest wrote:
             | > suits are a western thing
             | 
             | I think you're commenting out of ignorance. FIDE's dress
             | code does accepts "national costumes", on par with suits
             | and Bermuda shorts.
             | 
             | https://www.fide.com/images/stories/NEWS_2013/FIDE/Proposal
             | _...
             | 
             | It's an arbitrary list of clothing items that is supposedly
             | put together to "promote a good and positive image of
             | chess", regardless of where you come from.
        
               | lowbloodsugar wrote:
               | So a USA player can wear blue jeans?
        
             | seattle_spring wrote:
             | > I'm the opposite of woke
             | 
             | What exactly do you think that word means?
        
               | griomnib wrote:
               | I find people who use it in a derogatory don't do much
               | actual thinking to start with.
               | 
               | The literal origin of its use in social justice realms
               | was to put an emphasis and value on critical thinking.
               | 
               | By pondering the nature of society one can be "awoken" to
               | the deeper sociological forces which shape individual
               | lives.
               | 
               | I'll freely admit the term has been perverted by a range
               | of actors with motivations I disagree with.
               | 
               | But the original meaning and intent is valuable: all of
               | us live in a world of hidden boundaries and power
               | structures, but seeing that requires thought.
               | 
               | Many people don't want to think for themselves, and they
               | hate those that do.
        
               | krapp wrote:
               | You aren't wrong, but to be _entirely_ fair, the original
               | meaning of  "woke" came from the black activist community
               | and referred to the hidden boundaries and power
               | structures of systemic white supremacy, ignorance of
               | which could directly threaten their lives.
               | 
               | I think it's important to remember that specific context
               | when talking about where "woke" as a concept comes from,
               | its general acceptance within the leftist community has,
               | unfortunately (and maybe inevitably,) come with a bit of
               | whitewashing.
        
               | griomnib wrote:
               | Totally agree.
        
               | codr7 wrote:
               | That's far from the whole story though.
               | 
               | Part of being woke is usually seeing others as asleep and
               | not as enlightened, which means it's ok to lecture them
               | to hell and back. There's a difference between thinking
               | critically and looking for problems to feel superior.
        
             | fnordpiglet wrote:
             | FWIW blue jeans are about as western (literally!) as you
             | get.
        
             | UniverseHacker wrote:
             | > I'm the opposite of woke
             | 
             | English already has a word for that- asleep
        
               | Arch485 wrote:
               | No, "asleep" is the opposite of "awake". Woke is a
               | different construct.
               | 
               | Maybe an antonym to "woke" could be "slept"?
        
               | SideQuark wrote:
               | "Woke" in this context is literally a synonym for "awake"
               | [1].
               | 
               | It's best to learn nuances of word usage before
               | "correcting" others.
               | 
               | [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woke
        
             | tedunangst wrote:
             | Who said anything about requiring suits?
        
         | John23832 wrote:
         | It would probably be cooler seeing people dressed in the pride
         | of their home cultures while competing.
         | 
         | Though I'm sure the old guard would say some dress is too
         | distracting.
        
           | 7734128 wrote:
           | Yes, he should have put on a bunad.
        
             | robocat wrote:
             | > bunad
             | 
             | Traditional Norwegian dress for women and men.
             | 
             | https://thespurtrail.com/the-bunad-norways-traditional-
             | folk-...
        
         | robocat wrote:
         | Jeans are "Western".
        
       | laserlight wrote:
       | You can listen to Magnus's own account, including his
       | acknowledgment of his lower-than-expected performance and
       | tensions with FIDE:
       | 
       | Magnus Carlsen Got KICKED OUT Of World Championship (5 min)
       | 
       | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNTD_R8Scbk
        
       | chirau wrote:
       | A dumb rule is still a rule.
       | 
       | No one should be exempted from rules otherwise chaos will ensue.
       | 
       | If he has a problem with the rule, he should make an official
       | petition rather than resort to civil disobedience.
        
         | threatofrain wrote:
         | There are exemptions to all legal systems in the world, and
         | you're using words like "official petition" and "civil
         | disobedience" for a game.
        
       | gverrilla wrote:
       | Dress codes like these have a function which was not mentioned
       | here: they prevent poor/broke people from participating.
        
         | BenjiWiebe wrote:
         | Do they _really_? I have some black slacks that are 10 year old
         | hand-me-downs from a relative and they look fine. My dress
         | shirt for multiple years was a $5 second hand purchase - and I
         | got more compliments on that shirt than on the ones that I got
         | new.
        
           | UniverseHacker wrote:
           | Most such things are more about insider cultural knowledge
           | than actual money. Most "upper class" activities and styles
           | can be done cheap or free, but you need to know how.
        
       | DonHopkins wrote:
       | Imagine what a fuss they would have made if he wasn't wearing
       | pants.
       | 
       | You just can't win...
        
       | moomin wrote:
       | I remember in the late 80s there was a bar called "Lennon's" in
       | Liverpool. The dress code banned jeans. Pretty sure John Lennon
       | would have despised the place.
        
       | causality0 wrote:
       | _This applies equally to everyone_ is always the rallying cry
       | when a rule applies to everyone while not being equally onerous
       | to everyone. It 's like dress codes in schools that are much
       | easier for girls to violate than boys, or office hairstyle bans
       | that seem to only target styles used by black people.
        
       | greatgib wrote:
       | Something funny related to the topic of this news in my opinion:
       | in the picture selected by the newspaper, the sponsor of the
       | event looks like to be the "Freedom Holding corp"...
        
       | rurban wrote:
       | Coincidence. The world best table tennis player, Fan Zen-Dong
       | also just resigned, as well as two times world champion Chen
       | Meng, from the sleazy organization called WTT. Which decides on
       | WC and Olympics.
        
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