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India’s top chess names, including World No. 11 Arjun Erigaisi and Vidit Gujrathi, are among eight players reaching the closed playoffs of the India Rising: Road to EWC Chess qualifiers, with rising Grandmaster M Pranesh also booking a dramatic place and staying in contention for a route to the Esports World Cup 2026.

The closed playoffs on Chess.com are scheduled for Sunday, May 24 at 6:30 PM IST and will decide the two players who move into the India Rising LAN Finals in Mumbai, where the eventual champion secures a coveted berth for Paris and a share of the global $1.5 million Esports World Cup prize pool.

India Rising: Road to EWC Chess qualifiers shape pathway to Esports World Cup

The India Rising LAN Finals in Mumbai will offer a ₹27.5 lakh prize pool for chess alone, signalling how esports-linked formats are becoming more serious for Indian players, and the winner from this finale will progress to the main Esports World Cup 2026 event in Paris, joining a global field of online and over-the-board specialists.

The India Rising: Road to EWC initiative has been created by JioBLAST and the Esports Foundation, forming a structured route for Indian chess and esports competitors, and the qualifiers sit within this broader programme that aims to connect domestic talent with international competition through both online play and offline LAN events in Mumbai.

India Rising: Road to EWC Chess qualifiers highlight story of M Pranesh

Speaking on the significance of the initiative, Charlie Cowdrey, CEO, JioBLAST, said, "India has one of the strongest chess ecosystems in the world, and India Rising is designed to create a more open pathway for Indian players to access global esports competition. What has stood out through the qualifiers is the mix of elite Grandmasters and emerging talents competing through the same structure. Stories like M Pranesh's progression into the playoffs reflect the kind of opportunity this platform can create for rising Indian talent. The level of participation and competition we've already seen underlines both the depth of Indian chess and the growing momentum around chess within the esports ecosystem."

India Rising: Road to EWC Chess qualifiers attract elite domestic and global field

The India Rising: Road to EWC Chess qualifiers used a nine-round Swiss format and brought together 12 Grandmasters across Indian and international stages, with players such as Arjun Erigaisi, Vidit Gujrathi, Raunak Sadhwani and Karthikeyan Murali advancing, while several of India’s younger names, including V Pranav, Pranav Anand and Aravindh Chithambaram, also contested the online rounds.

Women’s Chess World Cup Champion Divya Deshmukh added further depth to the field by competing in the same qualifier despite having already secured a place at the Esports World Cup, reinforcing how the tournament managed to blend established international participants with those still aiming to reach Paris through the India Rising structure.

The international section of the India Rising: Road to EWC Chess qualifiers included Greek Grandmaster Nikolas Theodorou, who last year became the first player from Greece to defeat reigning World Champion Gukesh Dommaraju in a Swiss event, underlining both the competitive nature of the line-up and the attraction of the online stages for overseas players.

Other notable names included German Grandmaster Matthias Blübaum, a two-time European Champion known for a technical and positional style, and Dutch Grandmaster Benjamin Bok, recognised for strong online performances and a dynamic approach, both joining the qualifiers and adding further strength to a field already stacked with experienced international Grandmasters and ambitious Indian talents.

India Rising: Road to EWC Chess qualifiers schedule and format details

The India Rising: Road to EWC Chess Qualifiers are being held in partnership with Chess.com, which is hosting the online games and the closed playoffs, and the Top 8 players from the Swiss stage will now meet each other in direct online matches to decide the two finalists who will travel to Mumbai for the LAN Finals.

The structure and main milestones of the India Rising: Road to EWC Chess qualifiers are summarised here for clarity:

The closed playoffs from the India Rising: Road to EWC Chess qualifiers will be streamed live, with coverage available on the JioBLAST and Chess.com YouTube channels, allowing fans across India and abroad to follow the online matchups and track which two players finally reach the India Rising LAN Finals in Mumbai.

Livestream Link: https://youtube.com/live/Ckvk-j-CWeE?feature=share – this link will host live coverage of the closed playoffs on May 24 at 6:30 PM IST, enabling viewers to watch the Top 8 players compete for the two qualification spots available for the India Rising LAN Finals in Mumbai.

The India Rising: Road to EWC Chess qualifiers have therefore not only confirmed a strong Top 8 featuring Arjun Erigaisi, Vidit Gujrathi and M Pranesh, but also demonstrated how a structured esports-linked format can connect Indian and international Grandmasters while giving emerging players a realistic path towards the Esports World Cup 2026 in Paris.