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How To Dress for Chess
Should chess have a dress code? Chess Grand Master Magnus Carlsen defied the FIDE, the International Chess Federation, for violating the organization’s dress code by wearing a pair of jeans (my profuse apologies if you just fainted or spit out your morning coffee all over your newspaper) and was summarily disqualified from playing his opponent when Carlsen refused to change into approved attire. Magnus, who is currently ranked number one in the world and a five-time world champion, abided by the decision of the FIDE but also dropped an F-bomb in his remarks on the matter.
I realize that over the years, the sense of appropriate attire in social or public situations has degraded over time. There was a time, for example, when people actually dressed up to fly on commercial airliners or to shop downtown. Of course, there are some downtown areas now where wearing a holstered firearm over a hazmat suit might arguably be a more appropriate mode of dress. If you wear a black tie or an evening gown (depending on your gender preference) every evening for dinner you may find the wearing of jeans to play a game of chess ghastly and so, so…oh, what’s the word…plebeian.
Certainly, all private organizations have the right to set certain standards for behavior and appropriate attire but is the wearing of jeans to play a game of chess that egregious? Do jeans distract the other player or the audience or a televised audience that for the most part is obsessed with what’s happening on the chessboard?
Perhaps the attire of chess players should reflect the royal and medieval nature of the men and women on the chessboard itself (see the example in the photo above, which I have been assured is historically accurate). If Magnus—and there’s a regal name if ever there was one—appeared at the match dressed as a crowned king with a regal velvet cape, would this be permitted? How about in a full suit of armor? How about being dressed as a bishop? In some cities, dressing as a queen might even be the preferred attire.
If a chess contestant wore a glittery, sequined jacket that sparkled and a necktie that could light up with the words, “Check, Mate” would that be considered more formal and appropriate attire? Does the International Chess Federation need to loosen its dress code standards up a bit? I can understand not allowing players to wear shorts or speedos or flip-flops or overalls or furry costumes or body paint or a gorilla or T-Rex costume…but jeans? Really? Should each player, upon lifting a bottle of water to their lips during play, also be required to appropriately extend their pinkies, too? I mean, be consistent.
Published in General
Here is a video of 13-year-old Magnus Carlsen playing Garry Kasparov. This wasn’t a formal match so Carlsen’s wearing of a hoodie was acceptable if not terribly proper.
One quibble: he chose to walk out rather than change his pants. Afterwards the FIDE affirmed he had not been disqualified, and he was welcome to play the next day. But not in jeans. They are a dress code violation. It might strike us as silly, but them’s the rules set by the organization.
Duly noted. OP edited accordingly in light of the quibble.
In the interest of full-disclosure I often wear jeans or sweatpants when writing Ricochet posts.
I dunno, the entrepreneur in me can’t help but see a significant untapped market for sportswear companies. Not just for pros, of course, but the much larger wannabe and ally markets.
Well lah-di-dah Mr. Hoity Toity. Too good to blog in your underpants?
You’re welcome to disparage my ability to move pieces around the board, but commenting on my waistline is uncalled for.
TMI
Suppose I could drop an actual answer to the question. Whether or not FIDE allows jeans matters very little to me. I will say that what I’ve seen of tournament chess indicates to me that they’re much more interested in catering to the interests of current players than developing new players. That can be a death spiral, though perhaps it’ll work better for chess, as the boffins who play chess are something of a special case. In light of that I could see ditching the dress code, but it wouldn’t be the first or most important reform I’d attempt.
https://en.chessbase.com/post/what-chess-can-learn-from-racing
I am not a chess player. But I understand that chess was developed as a simulation for medieval battle, so I think the Monty Python attire would be an entirely reasonable dress requirement. (-:
Not chess, but church.
Funny you should bring up dress standards today.
Just this morning I was pulling out of storage, where they have been since I retired from career work, some dress clothes (suits, shirts, shoes, ties) because I decided that as we start a new calendar year I want to dress more properly to appear before God in worship at church. [Our worship service tomorrow December 29 is to be the functional beginning of the new year for our faith life.]
Broadswords may have to be checked at the door. Just saying. Some matches get really brutal.
The general career arc in FIDE is adolescents (and younger, Bobby won his first US Championship at 13) competing in international rated FIDE competitions with a very broad age range. All of the competitors are competitive (SPOILER WARNING). And maybe not the best socialized people. If there were no dress code, I can just imagine young Percival, and young Arahant, and young Augie, and all of the Rhodys, competing to see which one can get their picture in the paper for their flamboyance. (Naturally, Sisyphuses are very staid and conservative in their attire and grooming, so we wouldn’t be at all competitive in the sartorial event.)
Flamboyant?
Exuberant.
Sisyphodes.
We don’t swing that way.
I was there as a spectator. Magnus looked fine. There was not a problem until FIDE decided there was one. He agreed to not wear jeans on day three. FIDE insisted that he change out of jeans for the last round of day two. It’s another moronic decision by FIDE.
The Chess Song:
Or this one for extra silliness:
I get annoyed that most of the men in the audience fail to wear a jacket and tie at the Symphony or the Opera. Formality is part of the experience. I usually will even wear a tie to concerts at Tanglewood. It’s the Boston Symphony, for Pete’s sake, show a little respect.
Chess champions such as Magnus have frequently clashed with FIDE. There is tension over his new set of freestyle chess (Fischer random) competitions.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/chess/jeans-gambit-declined-the-clash-of-magnus-carlsen-and-fide/articleshow/116766626.cms
Informative. Thanks!
Here are more details about the controversy.
https://en.chessbase.com/post/world-rapid-blitz-2024-d2
I congratulate FIDE for maintaining standards of dress. They are correct to insist on outward respect for their institution.
Sure, one might wear jeans and a sweatshirt to their kid’s game, Thursday night at the high school. But not to Wimbledon.
The suggestion has now been made that a proper dress code should be applied to Zelensky. That’ll solve everything.
It should be noted that you don’t seem to be wearing a tie in your Ricochet profile photo while Richard Easton and I are wearing ties in our profile photos.
One wears what is appropriate to the venue. I think yours looks like you’re a visiting speaker. Richard is a superior nerd, and his picture perfectly expresses that.