Carlsen, a five-time chess champion, was fined $200 (£159) last week for breaching the tournament’s dress code.
He said he was wearing jeans to a lunch meeting and “didn’t even think about” changing them for another pair of pants as he headed to the tournament.
He had already played a few rounds in a shirt, jacket and jeans when he was told he had broken the dress code.
The Grandmaster said he offered to change his trousers the next day, but was told to change immediately, which he refused.
Carlsen then withdrew from the competition and announced that he would leave the city.
“No one wants to retreat… I’ll probably go somewhere with a little better weather than here,” he said.
Announcing the dress code changes on Sunday, Fide president Arkady Dvorkovic said: “The principle is simple: the official dress code is still required, but minor deviations (which may include, in particular, matching jeans to match the jacket) are elegant.” allowed.”
He said tournament staff would be required to help judge whether outfits comply with the relaxed code, adding that he hoped players would not “undermine the festive spirit” at the tournament on New Year’s Eve by “abusing this extra flexibility”.
In a post on social media Sunday, Carlsen said, “Oh, I’ll definitely be playing in jeans tomorrow.”
Fide previously said the dress code rules were designed to “ensure fairness and professionalism for all participants”.
