Chess.com and GMย Magnus Carlsen announced a major partnership with the Esports World Cup Foundation (EWCF), meaning that chess will be one of the competitions at the 2025 Esports World Cup – the world’s largest gaming and esports festival.
The event will take place from 31 July to 3 August 2025 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and the world’s top chess players will compete for $1.5 Million prize pool. The event will be played with rapid time control of 10 minutes for each player without increment. The field will include 16 players, 12 qualified through the Champions Chess Tour events scheduled for February and May of 2025, and four competitors will qualify from the Last Chance Qualifier in Riyadh which will be of the open character.
โBringing chess, the mother of all strategy games, to the Esports World Cup is a truly exciting moment,โ said Ralf Reichert, CEO of the Esports World Cup Foundation. โPartnering with the leading online platform for the game, Chess.com, and the legendary Magnus Carlsen โ a true GOAT of the sport โ allows us to not only showcase chess on a massive stage but also to drive innovation and growth within its already vibrant ecosystem. We’re eager to see how our Clubs embrace this new challenge and how this collaboration can elevate competitive chess to even greater heights.”
“It’s one small click for us players, one giant leap for chess”, commented Magnus Carlsen on the big news.
