The Chess at Esports World Cup 2026 will run from August 11-15 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. 13 players representing esports teams will participate in the tournament.

Magnus Carlsen is currently the only player qualified for the EWC 2026. The remaining 12 participants will be determined through three paths:

– The top 3 finishers of the Speed Chess Championship 2025, the final of which will be held in London from February 7 to 8.

– The top 3 finishers of the Global Chess Championship, which starts on March 13 for everyone, and then titled players will join the qualifier.

– The top 6 players in the Champions Chess Tour 2025-26 standings, including their performance on Titled Tuesday. Ian Nepomniachtchi, Hans Niemann, Fabiano Caruana, Hikaru Nakamura, Wesly So and Jan-Krzysztof Duda are in a qualifying position.

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.

Credit: Esports World Cup