World number one chess player Magnus Carlsen has said he will return to a major chess tournament after the sport’s governing body agreed to relax the dress code.
Carlsen left the World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championship in New York on Friday, where he was defending his title, after being told he could not continue playing in jeans.
The International Chess Federation (FIDE) later said it would relax its dress code to allow “pretty minor deviations” from its official list of acceptable dress.
The 34-year-old has since said he will return to competition on Monday and will continue to wear jeans when he plays.
Carlson, a five-time chess champion, was fined $200 (£159) last week for breaching the tournament’s dress code.
She said she wore jeans to the lunch meeting, and “didn’t even think” to change into a different pair of pants on the way to the tournament.
He had already played a few rounds wearing a shirt, blazer and jeans when he was told that he had violated the dress code regulations.
The Grand Master said he offered to change his pants for the next day, but was told he needed to change them immediately, which he refused to do.
Carlson then withdrew from the competition and said he would leave town.
“No one wants to move back… I’ll probably go somewhere that has a little bit better weather than here,” he said.
Announcing the changes to its dress code on Sunday, Fed president Arkady Durkovich said: “The principle is simple: it is still necessary to follow the official dress code, but pretty minor deviations (including, in particular (may include appropriate jeans, matching jacket) is allowed.”
He said tournament staff would need to help decide whether outfits fit the relaxed rule, adding that he hoped players would “take that extra flexibility” into the New Year’s tournament. Misusing” will not “undermine the festive mood”.
In a social media post on Sunday, Karlsson said: “Oh, I’m definitely playing in jeans tomorrow.”
The Fed previously said its dress code regulations were designed to “ensure fairness and professionalism for all participants.”
Carlson is a high-profile chess figure who has attracted some controversy in recent years.
The Norwegian became a grandmaster – the highest title in chess – at the age of 13, and has long been considered a maverick in the chess world.
In 2023, he settled a long-running legal dispute after accusing an American rival of cheating.
Carlson made the allegation after an unexpected loss to 19-year-old chess master Hans Niemann in a 2022 match.
Niemann denied the allegations and filed a $100m (£79m) defamation suit against Carlson, the Chess.com website and another US grandmaster.
Last August, Chess.com said The case was settled out of court.and that Carlson now accepts that Neiman did not cheat.