Top Eight Spots Secured by Erigaisi, Sarin and Others at EWC 2026

In the 2026 Esports World Cup chess segment held in Paris, the field narrowed to eight competitors after intense quarter‑final battles. India's Arjun Erigaisi and Nihal Sarin both qualified for the top‑eight but fell short of reaching the semi‑finals.

Erigaisi faced Hikaru Nakamura of Team Falcons. After four draws in the regular schedule, the tie‑breaker on white pieces granted Nakamura a checkmate victory, sending him to the next round. In a parallel encounter, ES8UL’s Nihal Sarin met Magnus Carlsen of Team Liquid. Carlsen captured the first two games, drew the third, and closed the match 2.5‑0.5.

Other quarter‑final outcomes included Denis Lazavik’s Armageddon win over Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Alireza Firouja’s 2.5‑1.5 triumph over Hans Moke Neiman. The upcoming semi‑final match‑ups will be Nakamura versus Lazavik and Carlsen versus Firouja, essentially a replay of last year’s final.

Each of the eight semi‑finalists receives ₹71.5 lakh in prize money. ES8UL’s Pranesh M, eliminated from the lower bracket, earned ₹52.5 lakh, while teammate Aravind Chidambaram collected ₹21.9 lakh from the total pool of ₹14.3 crore.

The competition will continue in a single‑elimination format. Semi‑finals consist of six games, and the grand final will employ a best‑of‑three sets system: four games per set for the first two sets and, if required, a two‑game third set.