From July 29 to August 1, the attention of the global chess community was focused on the "Esports World Cup Chess" tournament held in Saudi Arabia. This prestigious event, with a total prize pool of 1,550,000 US dollars, was conducted in a spectacular and innovative format that merged electronic sports with classical chess.
In the final match, the unmatched Norwegian grandmaster Magnus Carlsen faced the young and talented French player Alireza Firouzja. Carlsen secured a confident victory in both sets with scores of 3:1 and 3:1, thus claiming the championship title.
In the third-place match, experienced American chess player Hikaru Nakamura defeated India’s Arjun Erigaisi with scores of 5:3 and 5:2, finishing the tournament in third place.
After his win, Magnus Carlsen shared his impressions of the tournament:
— I’m satisfied with my play. In this kind of format, you always need to find a certain balance: it’s difficult to play both quickly and accurately at the same time. Therefore, I tried to make fast but high-quality moves — and that strategy paid off.
Carlsen also expressed his pleasure at connecting with a new audience that previously hadn’t followed chess:
— This is a new fan base for me. Many people watching the Esports World Cup may not have been interested in chess before. It’s an honor for me to once again prove I’m among the best. I thank the organizers and the entire EWC team for turning the tournament into a real esports show. This wasn’t just a chess competition — it was a world championship with the dynamics of esports. I think we showed how exciting this format of chess can be. I'm happy I was able to prove myself in this setting too.
It should be noted that young stars from Uzbekistan also took part in the tournament. Javokhir Sindarov finished his run during the group stage, while Nodirbek Abdusattorov reached the quarterfinals, where he was defeated by Alireza Firouzja — the eventual finalist.
“Esports World Cup Chess” will be remembered not only for its prize fund but also as a project that demonstrated what the future of chess might look like. Carlsen’s victory once again confirmed his dominance, even in this new format.
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