Chess is making a high-profile return to the Esports World Cup (EWC) 2026 in Riyadh. Following its successful debut in 2025- where Magnus Carlsen took the inaugural title-organizers have officially “doubled down” on the game, integrating it more deeply into the professional esports ecosystem.
The third edition of the Esports World Cup will be taking place from 6 July to 23 Augustat Boulevard Riyadh City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Chess In Esports World Cup 2026: Qualification Pathways
There are four pathways for players to qualify for the Esports World Cup, one of which is reserved for the winner of the 2025 edition – Carlsen in this case. World Cup hopefuls can also book their slot in the tournament through the Speed Chess Championship as well as the Chess.com Global Championship, both events offering three slots each.
Another six slots will then be decided through the Champion Chess Tour leaderboard. That, however, is not all as far as the number of chess Grandmasters in action at the Esports World Cup is concerned, with the EWCF set to announce additional slots for the event at a later date.
For 2026, the qualification process has been expanded into a year-long circuit in partnership with Chess.com, providing 12 of the 21 slots through three major “pillars”:
| Pathway | Qualifying Slots | Timeline |
| Speed Chess Championship (SCC) | 3 Players | Oct 2025 – Feb 2026 |
| Chess.com Global Championship (CGC) | 3 Players | Mar 2026 – May 2026 |
| Champions Chess Tour (CCT) Leaderboard | 6 Players | Sep 2025 – May 2026 |
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Chess In Esports World Cup 2026: Format
As for the format, the chess event will feature three stages. The Play-in will feature eight players divided into two groups of four and will take place in a GSL format wherein two games are played per match.
That will be followed by the group stage, which will feature 16 players divided into two groups of eight. This stage will follow a double elimination bracket, with matches once again comprising two games.
The top four teams from each group then advance to the Playoffs, the final stage of the chess tournament at the 2026 Esports World Cup. A total of eight players will be in action in this round, competing in a single-elimination bracket with matches in this stage featuring four games.
The number of games per match will then increase to six when only four players are left standing. The top two players will then be facing off for the title in best-of-three clash.
Chess In Esports World Cup 2026: Prize Money
A total prize pool of $1.5 million (£1.09 million) is being set aside for this event.
