MQL's Guidance for Question Masters advises "If the answer requires a first name as well as a surname, ask for it in the question, otherwise a surname only is acceptable as an answer." This is pretty much a standard, not only in MQL but in most serious quizzes.
Question setters are obviously allowed a certain amount of discretion. But under what circumstances are you justified in asking for forenames as well as a surname?
The most obvious circumstance, and the most common, is when there may be two people with the same surname who might fit the question in some respects. For example: who succeeded William McKinley as US president? "Roosevelt" is not enough, because you need to distinguish between Theodore and Franklin D.
I'm not convinced that people should be required to give first names just because the initials are included in the question. You could argue that if the question setter had asked a proper question, the surname alone would have been acceptable; it's bit much to insist on the contestant giving the full name because the setter is feeling lazy and has resorted to the Blockbusters style. This is supposed to be a history round!
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