Viswanathan Anand, Deputy President of FIDE, has addressed the controversy surrounding Magnus Carlsen’s withdrawal from the World Rapid and Blitz Championship 2024. The five-time world champion explained that FIDE had no option but to un-pair Carlsen after he refused to adhere to the tournament’s dress code rules. The issue arose on Day 2 of the tournament in New York City when Carlsen, widely regarded as one of the greatest chess players of all time, arrived wearing jeans, which violated FIDE’s dress code. FIDE Chief Arbiter Alex Holowzsak initially issued a 200 dollars fine and instructed Carlsen to change his attire before the ninth round. However, Carlsen refused, standing firm on what he described as a matter of principle. Anand said, he simply refused to follow rules, leaving them with little choice. According to Anand, FIDE tried multiple times to resolve the issue amicably. The arbiter said that as long as Magnus changed his jeans before the ninth round, it would be fine. But Magnus said he was not going to do it on principle. Anand further highlighted that other players had complied with similar requests.