American GM Hikaru Nakamura shared his opinion on the clash of dates between the Esports World Cup and the Grand Chess Tour. Nakamura states that he, French GM Alireza Firouzja, and Magnus Carlsen will play in the EWC, and believes that organizers will not change tournament dates.

Hikaru Nakamura

Hikaru Nakamura

American GM

“As far as I know, neither EWC nor GCT have changed the dates.

I’m going to be playing EWC. Alireza Firouzja is going to be playing EWC. He made the choice of playing EWC over the Grand Chess Tour. Magnus, of course, will be playing the EWC.

I don’t think anything’s going to be changing. I think the dates are going to be what they are, and players are going to pick one or the other. I guess that’s it…”

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.

The Esports World Cup is a premier annual international gaming tournament and festival held in Riyadh, with a $1,500,000 prize fund. Grand Chess Tour is an annual circuit of international chess tournaments with a $2,000,000 prize pool.

Credit: Yoav Nisenbaum / FIDE