The official Esports World Cup website updated its player list for the 2026 tournament. Fabiano Caruana and Wesley So were removed from the list a month after qualifying for the event.

The GMs earned their EWC slots by finishing 15th and 16th in the Champions Chess Tour 2025-26 standings. Fabiano and Wesley declined participation due to a date conflict with Grand Chess Tour 2026. Arjun Erigaisi filled one of the remaining slots, and Alexey Sarana received a higher seed. The last free slot will be determined at the Last Chance Qualifier in August.

Chess at Esports World Cup 2026 is scheduled from August 11 to 15. The Grand Chess Tour event, Sinquefield Cup 2026, is scheduled from August 8 to 21. These dates directly overlap, making participation in both tournaments impossible.

Elite GMs have published an open letter addressed to the organisers of GCT and EWC on February 10. Levon Aronian, Fabiano Caruana, Alireza Firouzja, Anish Giri, Vincent Keymer, Praggnanandhaa R and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave called on the organisers to consider adjustments or practical solutions that would allow players to participate in both events. EWC organisers did not make public statements about the situation and the dates were not changed.

The Esports World Cup is an annual international gaming tournament and festival. The chess tournament at the 2026 edition of the event will take place in Paris and will feature a $1,500,000 prize fund. Grand Chess Tour is an annual circuit of international tournaments. It features a $2,000,000 prize pool across 2 Classical tournaments, 3 Rapid & Blitz events and the Grand Finals.

Credit: Lennart Ootes