Arjun and Murzin are among the young Grandmasters inspiring the next generation and elevating chess to new heights. The game has gained immense popularity in recent years, with online chess becoming a major trend. It offers players a great opportunity to compete against each other from the comfort of their homes.

Debut at Esports World Cup 2025

A few days ago, Chess.com and GM Magnus Carlsen announced that chess will be a part of the upcoming Esports World Cup. This was the first time that chess would feature in the Esports World Cup. This event will take place in Riyad, Saudi Arabia from 31^st July to 3^rd August 2025.

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The partnership with Esports World Cup Foundation means that the top chess players across the world will fight for $1.5 million prize pool. This deal will have a significant role in taking the game to another level. The Esports World Cup has a huge prize pool of $60 million.

Qualification process

The Champions Chess Tour (CCT) will be the primary pathway for players to qualify for the Esports World Cup. Two online Tour events will be organized in February and May. These tours will have a combined prize pool of $300,000. The top 12 players from the tour and four additional players from a Last Challenger Qualifier (LCQ) will compete for the prizes.

Chessable Masters will begin on February 16. There will be a prize pool of $150,000.

CCT will feature a new format from next season. The matches will be played with a time limit of 10 minutes for the entire game, without any increment. Tiebreakers will be decided by a single Armageddon Stadium.

Arjun and Murzin: Two big names signed ahead of EWC

There is good news for two young chess players. Arjun Erigaisi and Volodar Murzin became the first players to sign for major esports organizations.

Arjun is the world’s number four player. Generation Gaming (Gen.G) announced that they have acquired the services of Arjun. The youngster was excited about the deal. He said, “It’s exciting because this one is very unique and I believe the Esports World Cup will open up new doors for the chess world.” This is his second deal since signing a $1.5 million contract with Quantbox in 2022.

18-year-old sensation, Volodar Murzin has joined Vietnamese-Chinese esports organisation AG Global. Murzin stunned everyone by winning the 2024 FIDE World Rapid Chess Championship. He was also happy about signing up for a new challenge. His mother said, “Volodar is pleased to join such a strong team and organization. There are many strong online tournaments, but the Esports World Cup will be special in chess. I hope that will help chess to rise to a new level. The details of the deals have not been disclosed. These two have joined the likes of GM Hikaru Nakamura, who signed a deal with TSM in 2020. WFM Alexandra Botez, WGM Nemo Zhou, and WFM Anna Cramling are other big names who have signed deals with Esports Organisations