Magnus Carlsen, who shared the 2024 World Blitz Championship title in Wall Street, New York, on Wednesday along with Russia’s Ian Nepomniachtchi, made another late entry on Monday when round 1 of the tournament began as he was buying a new pair of jeans.
Only a few days back, the world No. 1 was disqualified from the Rapid event for refusing to change into formal trousers. Carlsen was fined USD 200 for wearing jeans, which was “explicitly prohibited” under the original tournament regulations. He was also disqualified after he refused to change his attire by chief arbiter Alex Holowczak ahead of the ninth round.
However, on Monday, Carlsen returned to the World Blitz Chess Championship after FIDE’s decision to allow players to compete in jeans. Announcing the change in policy, FIDE boss Arkady Dvorkovich said “I took the decision to trial an approach to provide more flexibility to FIDE officials in judgements regarding the suitability of the attire.
“The principle is simple: it is still required to follow the official dress-code, but elegant minor deviations (that may, in particular, include appropriate jeans matching the jacket) are allowed,” Dvorkovich said in a statement on X.
However, in round 1 of the tournament against Michael Bezold, a 52-year-old German grandmaster, the five-time champion turned out late by a minute and 11 seconds for a three-minute game. Bezold, who was playing with white pieces, had already made his first move before Carlsen made his move with his one minute and 49 seconds left on the clock. The Norwegian eventually won.
“It feels good to be back,” Carlsen told the presenter after his win when asked if he was wearing a new pair of jeans. “Yes, a new one. I got them just for the game today, which is one of the reasons why I was late. But of course it’s my responsibility.”
Magnus Carlsen defends Blitz title
In an unprecedented result, Carlsen defended his title after he shared the Championship with Nepomniachtchi. he decision was made by both the players after three straight draws in the sudden death. Earlier, Carlsen kicked off the final on a winning note, winning back-to-back games, implying a draw could have sealed the title in his favour. But the Russian bounced back in style, winning next two games to force a tie-breaker.
