The historic game of Chess has been confirmed as one of the 16 titles set to feature at the inaugural Esports Nations Cup (ENC) in Riyadh later this year. The announcement by the Esports World Cup Foundation (EWCF) marks a significant expansion for the digital competitive scene of one of the world’s oldest games.

This development follows the announcement in November 2025 that Chess.com had joined the ENC as an official partnered publisher, making the game’s presence in the upcoming event a widely anticipated move.

The Chess tournament at ENC 2026 will run from 2nd to 8th November, forming a key part of the wider national team competition taking place from 2nd through 29th November in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The organisers state the event will field an unprecedented 128 players, with the goal of allowing “new talents and underrepresented nations to compete on a major stage.”

The competition format involves a round-robin group stage for all 128 competitors, followed by a 64-player single-elimination playoff. Matches will use a Rapid 10+0 time control. The player field will be determined through a mix of direct invites via the Champions Chess Tour (CCT) rankings and open regional qualifiers, not connected to the International Chess Federation (FIDE). Direct invites are capped at one player per nation, with a final cutoff date of 26th May 2026.

Regional qualifiers, operated by Chess.com, are scheduled for June across seven global regions including North America, Africa, and East Asia. Each nation can have a maximum of two representatives at the final event in Riyadh.

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The inclusion builds on the game’s successful debut at the Esports World Cup 2025, which featured 20 nations and was won by Norwegian star player Magnus Carlsen, who then represented Team Liquid and spoke to The Esports Radar about the integration of Chess into the event. The EWCF appears to be continuing its strategy of integrating traditional mind sports into the modern esports ecosystem under its event portfolio.

Other titles already confirmed for the Esports Nations Cup 2026 include Trackmania, Dota 2, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, and FATAL FURY: City of the Wolves.

Follow every development from the Esports Nations Cup via The Esports Radar’s dedicated Esports Nations Cup Live Tracker.

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