India to Send Four GMs to the 2026 Esports Chess World Championship
Nihal Sarin, Aravindh Chithambaram, Pranesh M, and Arjun Erigaisi will compete in the Chess EWC in Paris, doubling the nation's representation.
India will have a strong representation at the 2026 Esports Chess World Championship in Paris, to be held from August 11 to 15. The country will send four grandmasters, doubling its presence compared to the previous year. Nihal Sarin, Aravindh Chithambaram, and Pranesh M will compete representing S8UL Esports, while Arjun Erigaisi will do so for Gen.G Esports. The chess tournament at the EWC will offer a prize of $1.5 million (~₹14.2 million).
Player Qualification
Nihal, Pranesh, and Arjun qualified directly to the group stage thanks to their results in the Champions Chess Tour (CCT) 2025-2026. On the other hand, Aravindh secured his spot through DreamHack Atlanta and will begin in the preliminary round. In 2025, India had two players in the EWC Chess: Nihal reached the quarter-finals by qualifying through the Last Chance and Arjun finished in fourth place through the CCT qualification.
Revised Tournament Format
The chess tournament of the EWC will utilize a revised two-phase format. A new preliminary phase will include nine players qualified through the Last Chance and DreamHack Atlanta, featuring a double-elimination format in two-game matches. The top players will advance to a group stage of 16 players, divided into two groups of eight. This phase will also follow a double-elimination format with two-game matches, where the top four from each group will proceed.
The Playoffs
The playoffs will be single elimination, with quarter-finals consisting of four games and semi-finals of six games. The champion will be decided in a Grand Final played in three sets. Among the favorites are defending champion Magnus Carlsen from Team Liquid, along with Hikaru Nakamura and Alireza Firouzja from Team Falcons, Nodirbek Abdusattorov from Natus Vincere, and Hans Moke Niemann from GodLike Esports.
India's participation in the 2026 event marks its largest representation to date, highlighting its growing presence on the international esports chess scene.
Tags
About the author
Renata Quiroga
Betting Markets Correspondent
Renata Quiroga covers sports betting and prediction markets — sportsbook launches, odds technology, event contracts, and the regulatory calls that decide what can be bet on and where. The reports open with the product or the ruling, name operators and platforms precisely, and explain the mechanics without needless jargon. When a book enters a Latin American market or a prediction exchange lists a contested contract, Renata Quiroga reports what changes for the bettor.
More from Renata Quiroga
