Chess Set to Make Its Debut at Esports Nations Cup 2026

The Esports World Cup Foundation (EWCF) has revealed Chess as the newest addition to the 16 games that national teams and players will contest in the first Esports Nations Cup 2026 (ENC), scheduled to take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from November 2 to 29, 2026. Chess at ENC 2026 will feature an unmatched number of participants, enabling emerging talents and lesser-represented nations to compete on a prominent platform as the historically important game evolves into a larger esport.

Here’s all you should be aware of regarding Chess at ENC 2026:

SCHEDULE AND FORMAT

● The Chess tournament at ENC will begin on November 2, 2026, and will conclude with the playoff final on November 8, 2026.

● The opening portion of the tournament will consist of 128 players competing in a round-robin group stage, featuring 16 groups of eight players.

● The top four players from each group will advance to the next stage.

● The second stage will consist of 64 players competing in a single-elimination playoff bracket.

● All group stage matches will be best-of-two. All Round of 64 and 32 matches will be best-of-two, while the quarterfinals and beyond will be best-of-four.

● Armageddon games will be used as tie-breakers.

● The event will be played in a Rapid 10+0 time control format.

RANKING SYSTEM AND QUALIFIER INFO

● 128 players representing their respective nation will compete in the Chess event at ENC 2026:

○ 64 players from 64 nations will be directly invited based on the official Champions Chess Tour (CCT) rankings

○ 56 players will qualify through regional qualifiers

○ 8 players will come from Wildcard slots

● The Esports Nations Cup will determine its direct invites via the official CCT rankings, limited to one player per nation. The Titled Tuesday Spring Split will be used as an additional tie-breaker should there not be 64 unique nations featured in the CCT rankings. The cut-off date for determining direct invites to ENC 2026 is May 26, 2026.

● Chess will feature two regional qualifiers in each region, taking place on June 6-7 and June 13-14. Each Qualifier will consist of two stages; a Swiss stage and a double-elimination stage, with four players from each qualifier making it to ENC, giving a total of eight players per region. Qualifiers will be operated by Chess.com, and hosted in each of the following regions:

○ North America (8 slots)

○ South America (8)

○ Africa (8)

○ Western Europe (8)

○ Eastern Europe (8)

○ Middle East + India + Central Asia (8)

○ East Asia + Southeast Asia + Oceania (8)

● Every nation can have up to two representatives at the event. Should a nation have a player directly invited through the rankings, only one more player from that nation can make it through the regional qualifier. Nations without a direct invite can still have two players qualify online.

CHESS AT THE ESPORTS WORLD CUP

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