Chess’s future in Esports World Cup remains bright

The inclusion of Chess’s global icon, Magnus Carlsen, was one of the biggest draws for the Esports World Cup in 2025.

Now, the EWCF has made it clear that the inclusion of chess is not a one-off experiment. While viewership for the chess tournament at EWC 2025 did not match that of other traditional esports events in Riyadh, organisers view chess as a long-term investment.

“It definitely wasn’t a one-and-done. It’s something we’re continuing to invest in, working with the chess community on how we can engage more deeply,” said Mike McCabe, Deputy CEO of EWCF, to The Indian Express during a roundtable media interaction.

Chess is among the 24 games at the 2026 Esports World Cup. (PHOTO: EWCF)

McCabe noted that while chess has not historically been considered an endemic esport, the scale of the sport and its massive digital community make it a promising investment.

“It was an experiment in 2025, absolutely. Chess hasn’t historically been seen as one of the classic esports titles, but we felt strongly it was an opportunity and deserved its place. When we look at the scale of the global digital chess community and its continued growth, from our perspective, it was worth the investment. The tournament exceeded our expectations on pretty much every level,” McCabe explained.

Fabian Scheuermann, Chief Games Officer of the EWCF, added that the organisation is not only continuing with chess but doubling down to grow it further as an esport.

“We ticked so many boxes that we’re actually doubling down. We’re not just continuing, chess is one of the games we believe helps us reach our goals, which extend beyond the endemic esports community. Almost everyone can relate to chess in some way, which is why we’re also strengthening our partnership with Chess.com, not just for this year, but for years to come,” said Scheuermann.

India, a key growth region

Through its Club Partner Program, the EWCF aims to provide financial stability and support to professional esports organisations, helping them expand into new titles and grow their global fanbases, rather than relying solely on prize money.

The Foundation has identified India as a key growth region for the 2026 Club Partner Program.

S8UL, a Mumbai-based esports organisation, was the only Indian club in the program and one of 40 worldwide partners for the inaugural edition in 2025 Esports World Cup. This representation allowed Indian players like Nihal Sarin to compete under their banner in chess.

McCabe stated that the EWCF is currently evaluating the Club Partner Program in India and acknowledges the region’s significant growth potential.

When asked about the possibility of a dedicated Indian qualifier slot and how the EWCF views the Indian audience, McCabe replied: “Last year, we had our first Indian club in our Club Partner Program, and it worked out very well. We’re currently evaluating applications for 2026 and will announce the team in the coming weeks. It was a very positive first year. What struck me personally, and the team more broadly, was the incredible passion of Indian fans and how vocal they were in supporting their clubs… It was amazing.”

The high level of engagement from Indian fans has encouraged the EWCF about the future in the region.

“Seeing the amount of social traffic and engagement with that narrative was something we were all very excited about. From our perspective, we see significant growth potential there,” McCabe said.

Olympic ambitions

The rise of esports also attracted the attention of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which had announced plans to host the inaugural Olympic Esports Games in Saudi Arabia in collaboration with the Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee (SOPC). However, after talks broke down in October 2025, the two parties have since moved in separate directions.

The IOC now plans to develop its own standalone esports event that could pose a direct challenge to the Esports World Cup.

Despite this, the EWCF maintains a collaborative outlook. “We definitely see ourselves as a collaborator with everybody in the industry. Our goal is to build sustainability across the broader ecosystem, which we pursue through our club-based model in the EWC and our nation-based model in the Esports Nations Cup,” said McCabe.

He also suggested there could still be a path for future cooperation with the IOC. “We’ve always believed there’s a space for an annual nation-based event. That’s why we run the Nations Cup every two years. The hope was that the Olympic Esports Games would run in opposite years, so that annually there would be a nation-based competition where country teams could compete,” McCabe explained.