EWC 2026 Chess: Magnus Carlsen, Arjun Erigaisi, Nihal Sarin Head Star-Studded Field as Group Stage Begins

Paris, Aug 12: As the Group Stage of Chess at the Esports World Cup (EWC) 2026 gets underway on Wednesday (August 12), some of the biggest names in the business will beging their campaigns for the coveted title and a share of the $1.5 million (~INR 14.3 crore) prize pool.

16 top chess players in the world, including defending champion Magnus Carlsen, Arjun Erigaisi, Nihal Sarin, Hikaru Nakamura, and Nodirbek Abdusattorov, have been divided into two groups. These grandmasters will be representing different teams in the highly-anticipated competition in the French capital.

EWC 2026 Chess: Groups are as follows

Group A

Group B

Top Match Ups in Group Stage

In Group A, India's only Chess representatives at EWC 2025, Grandmasters Arjun Erigaisi and Nihal Sarin, will take on each other in a repeat of last year's Group Stage opener, while another Indian Grandmaster, Pranesh M, will begin his campaign against Uzbekistan's Nodirbek Abdusattorov.

Elsewhere, Polish Grandmaster Jan-Krzysztof Duda will face Benjamin Bok, who qualified through the India Rising qualifier. EWC 2025 runner-up Alireza Firouzja will take on Wei Yi, who secured his place through the Last Chance Qualifier and Play-Ins, in another rematch of last year's Group Stage.

Group B features defending champion Magnus Carlsen of Team Liquid, who will begin his title defence against Andrey Esipenko, who advanced through the Play-Ins. American speed-chess icon Hikaru Nakamura will face Alexey Sarana, who is making his EWC group stage debut.

Hans Moke Niemann, representing Indian organization GodLike Esports, takes on Ian Nepomniachtchi, who reached the EWC Playoffs last year. The group's remaining opening match will see tournament's group stage debutants Denis Lazavik and Sina Movahed face each other.

ECW Chess 2026: Format and Schedule

The Group Stage will take place on August 12 and 13, with matches consisting of two games played under a 10-minute time control with no increment.

An Armageddon game will serve as the tiebreaker when required, with players competing in double-elimination brackets under the same match format. The top four players from each group will advance to the Playoffs.

The Playoffs will take place on August 14 and 15 and will feature a single-elimination bracket. The quarterfinals will be played over four games, followed by six-game semifinals, while the Grand Final will be decided through a best-of-three sets format.

The first two sets will consist of four games each, with a potential third and final set comprising two games.

Earlier, Indian Grandmaster Aravindh Chithambaram - representing S8UL Esports - bowed out during the Play-Ins and took home $23,000 (~INR 21.9 lakh) for his performance at EWC 2026.