Chess tournament details revealed for Esports World Cup 2026

The Esports World Cup Foundation has revealed details for the 2026 Esports World Cup Chess tournament taking place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia later this year.

A post online revealed the global competition’s qualification slots, alongside the main event’s format, tournament dates, prize pool and more.

Chess players will be able to qualify for the EWC through four qualifier events. One slot is allocated to the 2025 Esports World Cup Chess champion, Magnus Carlsen, who represented Team Liquid at the tournament.

The other qualifiers include the Speed Chess Championship and the Chess.com Global Championship, each offering three slots to the EWC.

The final six spaces will be offered to the top players in the global Champion Chess Tour leaderboard. EWCF will announce additional slots closer to the EWC.

The top Chess players from across the globe will gather in Riyadh from August 11th to 15th, to compete for the lion’s share of a $1.5m (~£1.09m) prize pool.

Three stages will be played in the Esports World Cup Chess tournament. The Play-In stage will split eight players into two groups of four and will feature a GSL format where two games are played per match.

Next will be the Group Stage, where 16 players will be divided into two groups of eight. This stage will follow a double elimination bracket with two games played per match once again. The top four teams from each group will advance to the Playoffs.

The Playoffs will serve as the final stage of the Chess tournament at the EWC 2026, where the remaining eight players will compete in the a single-elimination bracket. Rounds of eight will feature four games per match, while rounds of four will increase to six games each match.

The tournament will conclude with the top two players facing off in the Grand Finals in a best-of-three set and the winner will be crowned the 2026 champion.

Chess will be one of many competitive titles featured at the EWC 2026, including other popular titles such as Apex Legends, Counter-Strike 2, League of Legends and more.