3 min readUpdated: Aug 14, 2026 11:54 PM IST
There was a glimmer of hope for Indian fans when an extended field and dedicated zonal qualifiers were announced for chess at the Esports World Cup (EWC) 2026. In Riyadh last year, Arjun Erigaisi had reached the semifinals before falling to Alireza Firouzja and then losing to Hikaru Nakamura in the third-place playoff. Nihal Sarin, the other Indian in contention, met Magnus Carlsen in the quarterfinals, ending a campaign that had otherwise looked promising.
A lot has changed in a year, but the script for the Indians remained largely the same in Paris.
Of the four Indians who qualified for EWC 2026, Arjun and Nihal were once again the two who made it to the top eight. But fate dealt them the same hand, as both were knocked out in the quarterfinals by giants of the game. Just like in Riyadh, Nihal’s campaign ended at the hands of Carlsen, while Arjun crashed out before facing Nakamura as his final opponent.
Nihal was handpicked as his quarterfinal opponent by defending champion and face of the event, Magnus Carlsen, and it was clear that the Indian had to punch well above his weight to match the Norwegian, who had been battling illness since the tournament began.
Carlsen had no real trouble navigating against Nihal, quickly getting down to business by winning the first two of four games to take a commanding 2.0-0.0 lead. In the must-win third game, Nihal managed to put slight pressure on Carlsen, but the slippery Norwegian saved the game and sealed his place in the top four.
The other quarterfinal between Arjun and Nakamura was far more closely contested. In the four-game set-up, nothing separated the two players, as both brought their best game to ensure no one gained a decisive edge. With the scoreline locked at 2.0-2.0 after all four games ended in draws, the tie moved to Armageddon.
Arjun made a bold yet risky call as he bid a lower time than Nakamura to secure the black pieces and play with draw odds. He had 6 minutes and 45 seconds against the American, who played with winning odds as White with 10 minutes on the clock. Nakamura got a better position from the opening, but Arjun equalised quickly in the middlegame. It was in the endgame that the Indian let his guard down, allowing Nakamura to make small dents and snatch a close win.
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Arjun and Nihal’s top-eight finishes see each player take home $75,000 (~INR 71.5 lakh) in prize money. S8UL Esports’ Pranesh M, who exited in the Lower Bracket a day earlier, secured $55,000 (~INR 52.5 lakh), while his teammate Aravindh Chithambaram, eliminated in the Play-Ins, earned $23,000 (~INR 21.9 lakh) from the total $1.5 million (~INR 14.3 crore) prize pool.
(The writer is in Paris at the invitation of the Esports Foundation)