Did the world go nuts last week and I missed it? Curmie just sent me this crazy story, and I though it was a gag.
For those of you who don’t follow international chess (that is, all of you), the wonderfully named Magnus Carlsen is a five-time world chess champion from Norway. He has held the No. 1 position in the FIDE world chess rankings since July 1, 2011, indisputably making him one of the greatest chess players of all-time, right next to household names like Raul Capablanca, Ruy Lopez, and Emanuel Lasker. Yesterday he was kicked out of the World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships in New York after chess’s governing body FIDE barred the Norwegian from participating in the tournament.
Why? He was wearing bluejeans.
In a statement, the International Chess Federation (or Fédération Internationale des Échecs, thus FIDE) defended its dress code regulations as being designed to “ensure professionalism and fairness for all participants.” FIDE fined Carlsen $200 fine and said he could have continued to play if he had changed his pants. I’m not making this up, unfortunately.
To his great credit, Magnus’s response was, in effect, “Bite me.” He didn’t change his pants, didn’t appeal the ruling, and he quit the event, saying, “I put on a shirt, jacket and honestly, like, I didn’t even think about jeans, even changed my shoes. I didn’t even think about it. … First of all, I got a fine, which is fine, and then I got a warning that I would not be paired if I didn’t go change my clothes. They said that I could do it after the third round today. I said, ‘I’ll change tomorrow if that’s OK; I didn’t even realize it today,’ but they said, ‘Well, you have to change now.’ At that point it became a bit of a matter of principle for me.”
I frequently teach professionalism, which is conduct by particular field’s members that engenders public respect and trust related to the field’s function and purpose. The fashion choices of a pro chess player regarding what doesn’t even show above the board are on the far, far fringes of professionalism if they are there at all. I would support the fine and ban if Magnus wasn’t wearing any pants, and probably if he was in Speedo. Pajamas would be inappropriate, But jeans? Insane. When was that rule instituted, 1952?
The unethical party here is, clearly, the International Chess Federation. Professionalism is important properly defined, interpreted and enforced. Idiotic, petty, arbitrary regulations based on archaic tastes and illogical standards help make the concept itself look foolish.
Added: Below is the dress code, as far as I can determine. It appears to say that jeans are not inappropriate attire, but torn jeans are not. If Magnus’s jeans were torn, then that’s an important detail: jeans are acceptable attire in most circumstances and places, dirty or torn jeans are, at least arguably, disrespectful attire.
Ethics Alarms 
“I’m still holding out hope that this is a hoax….”
Not a hoax, I follow chess. It’s being discussed quite a bit. Most people felt he should have been able to continue to compete that day and change the next day. They wanted Magnus to change between rounds. Since is was the World Rapid Championship, they play several rounds per day. When normal, over the board, time controls are used (40 moves in 40 minutes), they play one game per day. This is the World Rapid Championship and the time control is 15 minutes for the whole game (with 10 second increment for each move) for each player.
Why don’t most people feel this is absurd and he was right to say, “Bye-bye, jerks”?
This just in:
“The world’s number one chess player, Magnus Carlsen, has said he will return to a major chess competition after the sport’s governing body agreed to relax its dress code.” ….
“The International Chess Federation (Fide) later said that it would relax its dress code to allow for “elegant minor deviations” from its official list of acceptable attire.”
Carlsen had said a few days earlier in an interview after the incident, “Nobody wants to back down… I’ll probably head off to somewhere where the weather is a bit nicer than here,” Magnus is the main draw for these tournaments; so, I guess FIDE had second thoughts and they backed down. I guess Magnus has something in common with Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, “I Won’t Back Down”.
this whole issue made me think of golf. It is an individual sport but maintains some dress code standards.
here is the Georgia PGA dress code:
https://georgiapga.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2019/06/2019-Dress-Code.pdf
it specifies no jeans, no shorts, but requires collared shirts.
if the chess people can’t be this specific, it should not be enforcing the requirement, like they do in some places:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-64631354.amp
-Jut
I am going to narrowly disagree. The type of pants he wore seems facially trivial, but the issue is more his attitude than attire. I have never heard of Magnus Carlsen, but it sounds like he wanted the Kings Pass. He is the best in league, and the rules are for the little people.
He’s been playing since at least 2011, so he knows the dress code. The jeans are not strictly hidden by the chess table. The event based on Edward’s description is an all day affair. There are publicity photos, and photos of the winners. His attire would be noted and documented. Everyone else would be in suits, or at least jackets and khakis. Only the relative superstar would be in casual attire. As the best in the league, he sets an example for everyone.
He says he was in a rush, and put on a coat and jeans; he outright states he didn’t even think of the dress coat. That shows disrespect to the organization that he didn’t give himself enough time to get dressed. A bit of a stretch in comparison, but even Derek Jeter or David Ortiz would be sent home if they showed up on the field in jeans, saying they didn’t “have time” to go home and get their uniform. The chess organization even gave Carlsen an opportunity to compete, but change afterward between rounds. Would a lesser player have been given such deference? Carlsen refused even this compromise, and was booted. The chess organization actually treated the rest of its competitors fairly by holding its best player to the same standards as everyone else.
Competitive chess does not have much going for it. Chess has a reputation of being a sophisticated game, and letting what little glamor it has be diminished by its best players flouting the rules and loosing the dress code does the organization harm. One comparable event, World Poker, lets its players dress like slobs on national TV, for instance. I’ve seen maybe five minutes of World Poker on ESPN, and that is my impression of the “sport”. Can chess afford such an opinion.
He wanted the King’s Pass, but was treated like a pawn. You could say the knight didn’t want to polish his armor. Or the bishop didn’t want to wear his robes. The rook didn’t follow the rules of the castle. I wonder if he has a queen, and what she thinks…
I just added the dress code rules, to the post. As I read them, jeans are acceptable, which means that Magnus’s jeans must have had some other disqualifying feature unmentioned in the ESPN report.
Perhaps. Or perhaps the official was just being an officious jerk.
in the paragraph numbered 4, a winning player must be business casual and jeans are not allowed.
it looks to me like jeans are only allowed during more casual play, and being a top contender means more formal dress.
the rules also don’t say anything about fines but do say code enforcement is ejection until compliance. They don’t define the distinction between a winning player and a jeans-allowed player though.
I caught that, too, and pondered it. Reading more closely, it clarifies this is for award ceremonies.
Based on new information previously not readily available, the FIDE organization does ordinariky allow jeans, and Carlsen travelled from Norway.
If it were a house rule for this particular tournament that jeans were not allowed, it is more understandable that might be unaware. He may have brought a set of more formal clothes for an award ceremony, but not necessarily enough for daily competition. A work around should have been made, rather than booting him (unless there were unsportsmanlike conduct involved).
If the judges arbitrarily made up the rule on the spot, that is obviously unfair and unethical.
I think I’m a little on the fence, or more correctly, leaning a bit the other way with this one.
The FIDE has a rule. We can disagree that the rule is necessary/fair/appropriate/whatnot but the rule does exist and so they have a duty to enforce it. I don’t see a problem so far.
They imposed a fine. That is apparently part of the rules and Magnus himself didn’t object to it, nor did he even disagree that he was violating the rule.
They asked him to–in effect–cease violating the rule immediately rather than allowing him to continue to violate it for the rest of the day. Sure, there is a case to be made that allowing him to continue would be more reasonable, but there’s also a counter-argument that NOT insisting he change ASAP would invite a new de-facto precedent where players can just wear anything they want so long as they’ve paid the $200 “fee” and they won’t be expected to change. I’m sure the FIDE doesn’t want that result.
So I don’t really see either party as unethical here. The FIDE simply enforced its rules and Magnus–who evidently made an honest mistake–chose not to abide by the enforcement.
If you (plural) think that the FIDE is unethical for having a dress code rule at all, then that is a separate issue from Magnus’ mistake and subsequent choices.
–Dwayne
Absolutely valid position, and strictly speaking, I agree. Magnus is a chess player, he is responsible for following the rules. FIDE can make whatever dress code rules it wants. My guess is that he wouldn’t have put on jeans if he had the dress code in mind or even knew its details. The enforcement of the rule as it was here, however, is unreasonable, and hence unethical. Fine the player, and tell him or her that the penalty will escalate if he does it again. Telling a player who has traveled from Norway that he must change his pants or be disqualified is unfair, especially when the rule is a trivial as this one.
If the fine is agreed to, then that should be it. To fine him AND make him change seems to be sort of double jeopardy. I find the whole thing rather ridiculous, and a bit amusing.
I wonder what would happen if he’d have put on a pair of golf pants – similar to what Rodney Dangerfield wore in Caddyshack. Examining the rules, it does not appear that these would be a violation.
UPDATE: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/us-world-rapid-chess-jeans-magnus-carlsen_n_677204dce4b0ce8b06c2fb25?d_id=8547461&ref=bffbhuffpost&ncid_tag=fcbklnkushpmg00000063&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&utm_campaign=us_main
Well what do you know! Rationality! Does FIDE read Ethics Alarms? Thanks, Curmie.
I am old enough to remember that in virtually all sports, the team wore uniforms sans socio-political messages, and all managers and trainers wore suits. The dress code clearly established a sense of professionalism and decorum, even though the games themselves were (and are) often violent – basketball, boxing and American football come to mind.
One would think that Chess, the intellectual game of Kings would aspire to always set a professional tone, and a dress code certainly contributes to that endeavor. Any experienced player would know and behave accordingly. Just flew in from Norway? Pffft. Should have flown in a day or two early to acclimate, rest and prepare.
No sympathy for this scapegrace.
Happy New Year to all – I enjoy your posts immensely,
grandma Lisa