EWC 2026 chess group stage opens with Erigaisi vs Sarin, Carlsen vs Esipenko

Chess at the Esports World Cup (EWC) 2026 begins its Group Stage today in Paris, with 16 players starting runs at the title and a share of the $1.5 million prize pool.

Group A includes Arjun Erigaisi (Gen.G Esports), Nihal Sarin (S8UL Esports), Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Natus Vincere), Pranesh M (S8UL Esports), Jan-Krzysztof Duda (Weibo Gaming), Benjamin Bok (Team MGD1), Alireza Firouzja (Team Falcons) and Wei Yi (Team Nemesis). The opener features an all-Indian matchup between Erigaisi and Sarin, while Pranesh M starts against Abdusattorov. Duda faces Bok, and Firouzja meets Wei Yi.

Group B features defending champion Magnus Carlsen (Team Liquid), Andrey Esipenko (Virtus.pro), Hikaru Nakamura (Team Falcons), Alexey Sarana (Fnatic), Hans Moke Niemann (GodLike Esports), Ian Nepomniachtchi (Aurora Gaming), Denis Lazavik (AG.AL) and Sina Movahed (Team Stallions). Carlsen begins his title defence against Esipenko, Nakamura plays Sarana, Niemann faces Nepomniachtchi, and Lazavik meets Movahed.

The Group Stage runs August 12–13. Matches are two games at a 10-minute time control with no increment, with Armageddon used as a tiebreak when required. Players compete in double-elimination brackets, and the top four from each group advance to the Playoffs.

The Playoffs will be held August 14–15 in a single-elimination bracket. Quarterfinals are four games, semifinals are six games, and the Grand Final is a best-of-three sets format (two four-game sets, with a potential third set of two games). The organiser also noted S8UL Esports’ Aravindh Chithambaram exited during the Play-Ins and earned $23,000.