The Chess tournament at the Esports World Cup (EWC) 2026 begins today, with 16 top players competing for the title and a share of the $1.5 million (around INR 14.3 crore) prize pool.

According to an Esports World Cup Foundation press release today from Paris, Indian Grandmasters Arjun Erigaisi and Nihal Sarin, who represented India at EWC 2025, will face each other in the Group A opener. Their match will be a repeat of last year’s Group Stage opening clash.

Another Indian Grandmaster, Pranesh M, will begin his campaign against Uzbekistan’s Nodirbek Abdusattorov. Polish Grandmaster Jan-Krzysztof Duda will take on Benjamin Bok, while EWC 2025 runner-up Alireza Firouzja will face Wei Yi.

Group B will see defending champion Magnus Carlsen begin his title defence against Andrey Esipenko. American speed-chess star Hikaru Nakamura will face Alexey Sarana, while Hans Moke Niemann will play Ian Nepomniachtchi. Denis Lazavik and Sina Movahed will meet in the group’s other opening match.

The Group Stage will be played on August 12 and 13. Each match will consist of two 10-minute games without increment. An Armageddon game will be used as a tiebreaker if required. The players will compete in a double-elimination format, with the top four from each group advancing to the Playoffs.

The Playoffs will take place on August 14 and 15 in a single-elimination format. The quarterfinals will feature four games, while the semifinals will consist of six games. The Grand Final will be played in a best-of-three sets format.

S8UL Esports’ Aravindh Chithambaram was eliminated during the Play-Ins. He earned $23,000 (around INR 21.9 lakh) for his performance at EWC 2026.