The Mumbai LAN Finals will decide the player advancing to the final stage of the Esports World Cup 2026 in Paris.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The playoffs, held on Chess.com and streamed live on JioBLAST and Chess.com channels, featured top Indian and foreign GMs competing in a knockout format after advancing through the earlier Swiss-format qualifiers.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The Asian Games silver medallist, Gujrathi, secured his place in the LAN finals after defeating rising Indian Grandmaster M Pranesh in the quarterfinals and Raunak Sadhwani in the semifinals. Benjamin Bok, on the other side, advanced after overcoming Karthikeyan Murali and World No. 11 Arjun Erigaisi in a closely contested bracket.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cThe Swiss stage was incredibly demanding because every round felt like a battle against world-class opposition. Formats like these really test your consistency, preparation, and mental resilience over a sustained period. Qualifying for the LAN Finals from such a strong field makes this especially rewarding, and as a Mumbai player, I\u2019m especially excited to compete in front of a home crowd. What also makes India Rising exciting is that it is creating meaningful global pathways for Indian chess players by connecting competitive chess with the rapidly growing esports ecosystem,\u201d said Vidit Gujrathi after this historic win. <\/p>\r\n\r\n
India Rising: Road to EWC is an initiative launched by JioBLAST and the Esports Foundation to create a competitive pathway connecting Indian chess and esports talent to the global Esports World Cup ecosystem.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The playoffs followed a nine-round Swiss-format qualifying stage that featured leading Indian GMs, including Arjun Erigaisi, Vidit Gujrathi, Raunak Sadhwani, Karthikeyan Murali, Divya Deshmukh, V. Pranav, M. Pranesh, Pranav Anand, and Aravindh Chithambaram, who has already qualified as the first Indian Grandmaster for the Esports World Cup 2026.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
India Rising: Road to EWC is an initiative launched by JioBLAST and the Esports Foundation to create a competitive pathway connecting Indian chess and esports talent to the global Esports World Cup ecosystem.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The India Rising LAN Finals in Mumbai will determine the player advancing to the final stage of the Esports World Cup 2026 in Paris, where competitors will battle for a share of the overall $1.5 million prize pool.<\/p>\r\n\r\n