Chess Is Back at the Esports World Cup in 2027
By Cameron W. · Sun, 08 Nov 2026
Chess returns to the 2027 Esports World Cup in Riyadh. Carlsen already has his place, and 12 spots go to the Champions Chess Tour leaders.
Only one name is guaranteed a place at next summer's Esports World Cup chess event, and you can probably guess whose it is. Chess.com confirmed on November 6 that chess will return to the tournament in Riyadh in 2027, with Magnus Carlsen going in as the two-time winner and defending champion. The other eleven seats are still up for grabs, and the qualification race is already underway.
What has been announced
The announcement covers the broad outline. The event returns to Riyadh next summer, and the list of qualifiers, the prize fund and the full format are still to come. Dates for the chess competition have not been given either. For the festival as a whole, HLTV reported last year that the 2027 Esports World Cup would run from July 16 to August 1, and Gamereactor says the July to August window holds again, though neither source covers chess specifically.
How to get in
Twelve places will be decided by the Champions Chess Tour leaderboard, which began on September 1 and runs to May 25, 2027. Points come from three Chess.com events: Titled Tuesday, the Speed Chess Championship and the Chess.com Open. The rules have changed since last year. Finishing in the top three of the Speed Chess Championship or the Chess.com Open no longer earns a direct spot. Winners of those events collect 150 points each, with 120 for second and 90 for third, while Titled Tuesday awards 10 points for a win and 7 for second place, according to Chess.com.
There is also a second road in. Chess.com announced a satellite program, in which winners of approved tournaments will go into a Last Chance Qualifier for the Esports World Cup. Which events count, and how many places are on offer, has not been revealed. Chess.com runs the Tour, so the announcement and its rules come from the organizer itself.
Two years, two Carlsen titles
Carlsen won the inaugural chess event in Riyadh in 2025, beating Alireza Firouzja in the final. In 2026, the tournament moved to Paris, where it was played from August 11 to 15, according to ChessBase India. Gamereactor says the move came after war in the Middle East disrupted plans for Riyadh. Carlsen took the title again, beating 19-year-old Denis Lazavik 3-1 in both sets of a best-of-three final. He won $250,000 from a $1.5 million chess prize fund, and Lazavik took $190,000. Hikaru Nakamura finished third for $145,000, after Firouzja forfeited their third-place match following connection problems.
The reigning champion was not at his best, by his own account. He said he had been dealing with exhaustion and a fever all week, so he chose a solid, low-risk approach and tried to "save energy when I could." Nihal Sarin, who has since reached the world top 20, lost their quarterfinal 2.5-0.5.
A calendar to watch
The next test is scheduling. Chess.com's 2026 review noted that Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu skipped the event because of a clash with the Sinquefield Cup, a clash that, Chess.com notes, kept several top players out. With the 2027 chess dates still unannounced, those clashes will matter. The tournament is also part of a much bigger picture: Carlsen's win in Paris earned his club, Team Liquid, 1,000 points toward the $30 million Club Championship, and Lazavik's runner-up finish helped his organization, AG, take that overall title.
For now, the story is simple. The best chess players in the world have until late May to find a way into Riyadh, and the best of them already has his ticket.
Sources
- Chess.com, "Chess Returns To Esports World Cup In 2027 As Carlsen Targets Third Title" (Nov 6, 2026)
- Chess.com, "Champions Chess Tour 2026-2027: Format, Dates, & More"
- Chess.com, "Carlsen Wins 2026 Esports World Cup: 7 Conclusions"
- ChessBase India, "EWC Chess 2026: Magnus Carlsen wins"
- The Week in Chess, "Esports World Cup 2026 (Final)"
- HLTV, "Esports World Cup dates announced for 2027"
- Gamereactor, "Esports World Cup confirmed for 2027 return, between July-August again"
