Esports World Cup 2025 Reveals Format for Chess Tournament

Chess at the Esports World Cup 2025 will be played in a rapid 10+0 format, meaning competitors will have 10 minutes on the clock with no opportunity to get additional time.

The inaugural Chess tournament at the EWC will be hosted by the Esports World Cup Foundation in collaboration with Chess.com and grandmaster Magnus Carlsen as a global ambassador.

In order to compete for the $1.5-million prize pool, European esports organization Team Secret has officially signed with Anish Kumar Giri, a Dutch chess grandmaster.

Besides Team Secret powering up, Wolves Esports has signed 2014 Chess Olympiad gold winner Yu Yangyi, while Indian grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi has joined Korean team Gen.G. At the same time, Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana have signed with Team Liquid.

The Chinese team LGD Gaming has brought in former world champion Ding Liren, and Team Vitality secured Maxime “MVL” Vachier-Lagrave. Esports giant Navi has expanded into chess as well, adding top players like Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Wesley So and Oleksandr Bortnyk to its roster. Meanwhile, grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura joined Team Falcons and Aurora Gaming powered up with Ian Nepomniachtchi.

In collaboration with Chess.com, the Esports World Cup Foundation is thrilled to host the world’s top online chess players in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where they’ll compete for a $1.5-million prize pool. Adding to the excitement, grandmaster Carlsen joins Esports World Cup Chess as a global ambassador.

Notably, according to the International Chess Federation or World Chess Federation, which is commonly referred to by its French acronym FIDE, when the game offers 10 minutes or less per player, it is categorized as a game of blitz chess.

In 2025, the EWC will feature a total $70-million prize pool distributed among competitions in 25 disciplines. Besides that, Esports World Cup 2025 will be powered by a $20-million Esports World Club Partner Program aimed at marketing and content campaigns in collaboration with 40 esports organizations.

Besides Chess, the EWC 2025 games lineup includes Valorant, Rocket League, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang and Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (Women’s Invitational), Teamfight Tactics, Call of Duty: Warzone, Honor of Kings, Street Fighter 6, Counter-Strike 2, Overwatch 2, League of Legends, Free Fire, PUBG, CrossFire, Rennsport, Apex Legends, Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves, EA Sports FC, StarCraft II, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, Tekken 8, PUBG Mobile, Rainbow Six Siege and Dota 2.