FIDE relaxes dress code for World rapid, blitz events in Doha

The International Chess Federation (FIDE) has announced a significantly relaxed dress code for next month’s World Rapid and Blitz Championships in Doha, “allowing classic non-distressed jeans for both men and women”, a year after the ‘jeansgate’ storm involving Magnus Carlsen at the same event.

The updated regulations from the world chess governing body now “allow” dark business-casual trousers “including classic, non-distressed jeans in blue, black or grey for both men and women” for the Doha event from December 25 to 30.

Suits, unicoloured shirts, dress shoes, loafers and unicoloured sneakers are also allowed for men, while women may wear skirt or pant suits, dresses, dark trousers including jeans, blouses and similar footwear, stated the FIDE dress code requirements.

Clothing must be neat and free of rips, tears, offensive slogans or prohibited logos. T-shirts, shorts, baseball caps and beachwear remain banned.

Any request to wear national or traditional dress requires approval from the Global Strategy Commission.

The 101-year-old world governing body of chess had already broken from tradition earlier this year when, in September, it had eased its long-standing dress code in response to last year’s controversy.

It allowed players to wear “appropriate jeans” at the Grand Swiss and Women’s Grand Swiss tournaments in a relaxation that has now effectively been extended across the board.

FIDE also detailed sanctions for violations of the upcoming Doha meet. It said infringements such as untidy appearance or wrinkled clothing will attract penalties during the Doha meet.

Repeated or major infringements may also lead to exclusion from subsequent rounds.

FIDE’s announcement comes a day after world No. 1 Carlsen revived memories of last year’s high-profile spat at the same venue.

“…I’ll be grinding the gym to fit into tighter jeans than last time,” Carlsen said in a post while confirming his participation in Doha.

Carlsen had kicked up a storm last year when he turned up for a Rapid round in jeans that did not meet the 2024 dress code. He was fined USD 200, warned by the arbiter but refused to change immediately and was eventually excluded from the day’s pairings.

He withdrew from the remainder of the Rapid tournament and publicly criticised FIDE’s handling of the event. He eventually returned for the Blitz section where he shared the title with Ian Nepomniachtchi and later auctioned his jeans for about Rs 31.5 lakh, donating the proceeds to charity.

World champion D Gukesh will lead a 41-member Indian contingent — 28 men and 13 women — at the year-ending championship.

Other top Indian names include Arjun Erigaisi, R Praggnanandhaa, Nihal Sarin, Koneru Humpy and Divya Deshmukh.