Chess champion Magnus Carlsen pulled off a sartorial checkmate after returning to a recent tournament despite wearing an article of clothing banned by its dress code: jeans.

Top-ranked Carlsen, 34, officially headed back to the World Blitz Championship on Monday, Dec. 30, following a loosening of the dress code — which previously resulted in him being fined $200 and denied participation in the later round of another tournament, the Associated Press reported.

On Friday, Dec. 27, the Norwegian grandmaster showed up to the Rapid World Championship wearing jeans and a sports jacket. However, per the chess federation, jeans are prohibited at those tournaments and participants are expected to change. Still, according to the outlet, Carlsen refused and was not paired for a game in the ninth round.

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In a statement issued following the incident on Sunday, Dec. 29, International Chess Federation President Arkady Dvorkovich said he would now allow World Blitz Championship tournament officials to consider allowing “appropriate jeans” with a jacket, and other “elegant minor deviations” from the dress code, the AP reported.

Related: World Chess Champion Quits Competition After Refusing to Change Out of Jeans, Tells International Chess Federation 'F--- You'

Dvorkovich acknowledged that Carlsen’s dress code pushback brought to light the need for the organization “to ensure that our rules and their application reflect the evolving nature of chess as a global and accessible sport.”

Speaking in an interview with the chess app Take Take Take on Dec. 28, Carlsen addressed the incident, saying “Of course, I could have changed. Obviously, I didn’t want to. I stand by that.”

He then questioned whether a rule was broken, maintaining that changing clothes would have disrupted his concentration on the tournament, according to the publication. He further slammed the punishment for refusing to change out of his jeans as "unbelievably harsh.”

Related: Chess Grandmaster, 17, Arrested and Banned from Tournament After Storming Out and Striking Woman After Loss

Carlsen previously explained that chess officials refused to budge despite offering to wear something different the following day of the tournament.

Carlsen said he then decided to quit both the Rapid and Blitz championships because “it became a bit of a matter of principle."

“Honestly, I'm too old at this point to care too much. If this is what they [FIDE] want to do … I guess it goes both ways, right? Nobody wants to back down, and this is where we are. It's fine by me,” Carlsen said, adding that, instead of his departure from the tournament, he’ll “probably head off to somewhere where the weather is a bit nicer than here.”

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