Four indian grandmasters

Four Indian Grandmasters: Indian chess will enjoy its strongest-ever representation at the Esports World Cup (EWC), with four Grandmasters set to compete in the chess tournament at EWC 2026, scheduled to take place in Paris from August 11 to 15.

Grandmasters Nihal Sarin, Aravindh Chithambaram, and Pranesh M, representing esports and gaming content powerhouse S8UL Esports, will be joined by Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi, who will compete under the banner of Gen.G Esports. Together, they will take on the world’s best players for a share of the USD 1.5 million (INR 14.2 crore) prize pool.

Nihal, Pranesh and Arjun secured direct qualification to the Group Stage through their performances in the Champions Chess Tour (CCT) 2025-2026, while Aravindh earned his place through DreamHack Atlanta earlier this year and will begin his campaign in the play-in stage.