Elite world chess players have published an open letter addressed to the organizers of GCT and EWC. The reason is a schedule conflict between the Grand Chess Tour 2026 tournaments and the Esports World Cup 2026 events.

Levon Aronian, Fabiano Caruana, Alireza Firouzja, Anish Giri, Vincent Keymer, Praggnanandhaa R and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave called on the organizers to consider adjustments or practical solutions that would allow players to participate in both events.

The “Last chance” qualification for the Esports World Cup is scheduled for August 6-8, and the main tournament is planned for August 11-15. Grand Chess Tour circuit scheduled the Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz tournament for August 2-6, and the Sinquefield Cup for August 10-20. These dates directly overlap, making participation in both tournaments impossible.

“These are two of the most important tournaments on the calendar. A clash of this scale prevents many of the world’s best players from participating in both competitions. It puts players and teams in conflict with existing professional and contractual commitments, undermines competitive integrity, and deprives fans of the strongest possible fields.

Top-level sport should aim to bring the best competitors together — not force them to choose between major stages. Avoiding direct conflicts between flagship events is a basic principle in other professional sports, and chess should strive for the same standard.”

The Esports World Cup is a premier annual international gaming tournament and festival held in Riyadh. The Chess discipline for the 2026 edition will feature a $1,500,000 prize fund from the total $75,000,000 pool among 24 disciplines. Grand Chess Tour 2026 is an annual circuit of international chess tournaments. The event features a $2,000,000 prize pool across 2 Classical tournaments, 3 Rapid & Blitz events and the Grand Finals.

Credit: Esports World Cup