Hikaru Nakamura stated, “No one would watch chess just because Magnus Carlsen is playing in jeans or his underwear”

World No. 3 chess star Hikaru Nakamura has criticized FIDE, the world governing body of chess, for its rigid dress code enforcement at the FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Championship. FIDE fined world No. 1 Magnus Carlsen for wearing jeans at the event in New York and insisted that he change, prompting the Norwegian to withdraw from the

tournament. Nakamura expressed his frustration with the outdated dress code, stating, “The sooner chess moves into the 21st century and stops trying to project this false image of great geniuses who never express emotions or act anything but like gentlemen, as if it’s still the 1600s, the better. This antiquated view and the idea of fining players for their attire is comical to me. It’s really out of place.”

He also highlighted that many players competing at the event, particularly those outside the top 10 ranks, are spending significant amounts of money just to participate.

When asked why players don’t collectively push for rule changes, Nakamura acknowledged the difficulty in achieving consensus among them.

Nakamura criticized FIDE for promoting a false image, saying, “Travel and hotels are very expensive, and it all adds up. It’s ironic that FIDE insists players should wear nice clothes when many of them are struggling to make a living, and FIDE isn’t doing anything to support them. For me, that’s the biggest issue with FIDE right now. They seem to be living in a world where it’s still the 1970s.”

Nakamura emphasized, “When it comes to Magnus playing in jeans, there isn’t a single person who wouldn’t watch just because he’s wearing jeans, or even his underwear or Speedos! No one cares about that at all. He’s the best player in the world, and that’s what people want to see. It’s absurd. People are here to watch chess, not to follow this nonsense. It’s truly unfortunate that we’re dealing with this, and it could have easily been avoided if FIDE wasn’t so out of touch, for lack of a better term.”