The battle for the Chess Playoffs at the Esports World Cup (EWC) 2026 has entered its decisive stage, with Indian Grandmasters Arjun Erigaisi, Nihal Sarin and Pranesh M fighting for a place in the next round.

According to an Esports World Cup Foundation press release from Paris today, all three Indians will compete in the Lower Bracket (LB) on Day 2 following their opening-day results. Only two players from the Lower Bracket in each group will qualify for the Playoffs.

Arjun, playing for Gen.G Esports, started his campaign with a 2-0 win over fellow Indian Nihal Sarin of S8UL Esports. However, Arjun later lost to Team Falcons’ Alireza Firouzja after the match was tied 1-1, with Firouzja winning the Armageddon tiebreaker to secure his Playoffs spot.

Nihal moved to the Lower Bracket after his defeat against Arjun. He will now face Team Nemesis’ Wei Yi in the Lower Bracket.

Pranesh M of S8UL Esports also suffered a 2-0 defeat, losing to Natus Vincere’s Nodirbek Abdusattorov. Abdusattorov later defeated Jan-Krzysztof Duda 2-0 to secure his place in the Playoffs.

Pranesh will take on Benjamin Bok of Team MGD1 in the Lower Bracket. Arjun and Jan-Krzysztof Duda will await the winners of these matches in the Lower Bracket deciders, where the remaining Playoffs spots will be decided.

Meanwhile, defending champion Magnus Carlsen of Team Liquid secured his Playoffs spot from Group B after beating Andrey Esipenko and Hans Moke Niemann. Team Falcons’ Hikaru Nakamura also qualified after defeating Alexey Sarana and Denis Lazavik.

So far, Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Alireza Firouzja have qualified from Group A, while Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura have secured the two Playoffs spots from Group B.

The remaining four Playoffs spots will be decided through the Lower Bracket matches on Day 2.

The EWC Chess Playoffs will be held on August 14 and 15 in a single-elimination format. The tournament features a total prize pool of $1.5 million, around Rs 14.3 crore.

With the Playoffs spots still up for grabs, Arjun, Nihal and Pranesh will look to keep their EWC 2026 title hopes alive.