Canadian GM Anton Kovalyov had enjoyed a great World Cup so far, defeating American GM Varuzhan Akobian in round 1 and former World Champion Viswanathan Anand in round 2. Unfortunately, things came a-cropper for him in round 3. Did Maxim Rodshtein crush him with some great preparation? Did Kovalyov self-destruct in time trouble?
No and no. Kovalyov didn't play. He didn't oversleep or get to the board late; no, his infraction was wearing shorts. (Long shorts, but shorts nonetheless.) This was apparently in violation of FIDE's regulations, and that reference to this was in the contracts all the players signed.
When I first read this, I assumed that Kovalyov was completely at fault, and simply didn't read the contract. But in fact the regulation doesn't say, "No Shorts." The contract says that players are to note the requirements of Article 8.1 of FIDE Regulation C.01 "in respect of their dignified appearance at all times during the World Cup", and Article 8.1 says this:
The image of the chess player should be a dignified one, and dressing properly would not only show respect for the game, but also to sponsors, potential or otherwise, to make it worth their while to spend their money.
For example, some federations have barred slippers, sleeveless T-shirts and vests in their tournaments. Those with unkempt and greasy hair should be admonished, as well as those wearing old or torn jeans and battered attire generally.
Nothing about shorts! That makes it a judgment call, and while it still seems surprising to me that Kovalyov could consider wearing shorts to be "dignified", professional attire, some sort of warning would have been appropriate.
Here's what happened: Kovalyov, who had worn the same shorts in the first two rounds, was in the playing hall 10 minutes before the games were to start. Chief Arbiter Tomasz Deluga noticed the shorts (but hadn't noticed the two previous rounds - not implausibly, given the greater number of players) and spoke with Kovalyov about this and then contacted Zurab Azmaiparashvili. Kovalyov left the playing hall and didn't come back, forfeiting the game. In theory he could come back and play tomorrow, but it seems he's going home if he hasn't already.
The first question: why didn't Kovalyov just go to his room, put on a pair of pants, and come back? The first answer is that he apparently didn't bring any - he had gained some weight, his pants were too tight, so he only brought shorts. (This is from Kovalyov himself.) This doesn't explain why he didn't buy some new ones, but it does show that he had a problem today.
But the second and biggest problem, at least according to Kovalyov, is that Azmaiparashvili acted like a horse's rear end - though that expression is a slander to horses, who don't have free will. Here's Kovalyov:
Then came Zurab, he was very agressive, yelling at me and using the racial slur "gypsy" to insult me, apart from mentioning several times that I will be punished by FIDE. I told him that I had asked before at the previous world cup if what I was wearing was OK and I was told by somebody from the organization that yes. Zurab, in a prepotent way, said he doesn't care, he's the organizer now. At this point I was really angry but tried not to do anything stupid, and asked him why he was so rude to me, and he said because I'm a gypsy.
If this is correct - and I'm not aware of any corroborating or disconfirming information about this - then Kovalyov was put in a very difficult spot. His choice was to leave the event, which is unfortunate for all the players involved. Azmaiparashvili has not been a stranger to controversy, and that's putting it mildly, but by itself it doesn't mean that he did anything wrong on this occasion.
Anyway, you can see a fuller discussion, with video statements by Deluga and Azmaiparashvili and the full Facebook post by Kovalyov, here.