Exclusive Vidit Gujrathi: “India is a chess powerhouse but still a long way from becoming an esports hub”

Chess Grandmaster Vidit Gujrathi Exclusive (Designed by TimesofIndia.com) NEW DELHI: The race for a place at the Esports World Cup (EWC) 2026 in Paris through the India Rising: Road to EWC chess qualifier has turned into a sensational final between two established grandmasters. India’s Vidit Gujrathi will face Dutchman Benjamin Bok. Both booked their places at the LAN Finals in Mumbai after making it through a stacked playoff field featuring some of the biggest names in professional chess. The winner of Saturday’s showdown will thus get the coveted spot in the final stage of EWC 2026, which will feature a total of 14 players. Indian grandmasters Aravindh Chithambaram, Nihal Sarin and Arjun Erigaisi have already qualified for the EWC main event. En route to the summit clash, Vidit beat the likes of M Pranesh and Raunak Sadhwani to seal his place, while Bok produced arguably the best run of the tournament, beating Karthikeyan Murali before knocking out India’s number one Erigaisi.Ahead of the high-stakes match in Mumbai, TimesofIndia.com caught up with Vidit Gujrathi to discuss his qualification journey so far, the growing convergence of chess and esports, the importance of India’s EWC qualifiers and much more. Besides.Q: What was your first reaction when you heard about India Rising and its association with EWC?I remember in May I was planning some tournaments and came to know about the India Rising Championship. I was really pleased because the final will be held in Mumbai. There are very few big tournaments in India so I was excited about this opportunity. At the same time, I knew it would be a tough road because there were more qualifying stages. I was hoping to make it to the finals in India so that my friends and family could come and see me play in person.Q: How different was this event compared to a traditional chess tournament?Online actions are very different compared to over-the-board chess. This format is also 10 minutes plus a zero second increment, so this event is very different from traditional chess tournaments because even though you are short on time, you usually have some increment. Here, you can have a completely winning position, but with only 10 seconds left in the clock, you can still lose the game. So it requires a different strategy and a different kind of gameplay, which is very modern. This style of play has only surfaced in the last three to five years and is gaining momentum. So I can predict that maybe there will be more events like this in the future.

Vidit Gujrathi on Chess in Esports (Graphic by TimesofIndia.com)

Q: How important is it for India to have its own route to the Esports World Cup?India is a power when it comes to chess. We won a gold medal from the Olympics. We are the current champions. The World Champion is from India, the Women’s World Cup winner is from India and the challenger Vaishali is also from India. So India is very important in the chess landscape. With the huge number of players, I think India is one of the leading places. I feel that the competition is much higher here and it makes sense that we have our own path to the esports World Cup. With esports being such a global event, it is very important to have India represented there. I think we are among the favorites in the chess world, so it makes sense that we have this event for India.Q: What was the most difficult challenge during the qualification phase?For me, the qualifying phase was not easy at all, because the first qualification was nine laps. I was feeling very rusty because I hadn’t played in a long time and I lost a game in the second round itself, which shook me up a bit. I managed to come back, but I could only manage four draws in the last four matches. By sheer miracle, my tie-breaks were better than the others and I managed to get the last qualifying spot, which was fourth.

Vidit Gujrathi on India’s Influence on the Chess World (Graphic by TimesofIndia.com)

I think that moment could have changed everything. If my tie-breaks were worse, I wouldn’t be in this tournament. So I got a little lucky there. The second day I played much better, but I really needed that luck in the opening qualifying stage. I almost thought I had missed the opportunity.Q: How significant is the opportunity to play the LAN finals in Mumbai?I don’t remember any big event except the Global Chess League which was held in Mumbai. Mumbai is the financial capital of India and such a major hub, so it makes sense to host a global event there. I think the esports scene has been on the rise in India since the pandemic, and having a LAN final in Mumbai that gets a lot of attention will definitely encourage more events like this to be held there. I am very glad to see it.Q: What does qualifying for EWC mean at this stage in your career?The Esports World Cup is a very interesting tournament. I tried playing the Last Chance Qualifier (LCQ) last year. I was leading the tournament, but in the last three rounds I messed up and went down. I was in Riyadh, I flew there specifically from the US and it was very painful to know that after all the effort I couldn’t qualify. Now I have another chance to qualify and I am really preparing well for it. I hope I can do it this time and that all the efforts will pay off, because the Esports World Cup has a very different audience compared to the usual tournaments. It is a unique opportunity and I would love to be a part of it.

Vidit Gujrathi on India’s potential in esports

Q: How do you see the relationship between chess and esports evolving?I think chess has this untapped opportunity. No other sport boomed during the pandemic like chess because it could be played online and esports is very natural for it.Last year, if I remember the statistics correctly, chess was one of the most watched games, at least in the top five or ten, and that was only the first year. Many other sports have been part of the Esports World Cup for years, and that chess, which was so warmly received in its first year, has shown that it is a good fit in the product market. Chess has a global audience, so viewership is spread across the globe. I feel we should explore more opportunities for esports and chess hand in hand. Q: Do you think India can become a global hub for esports-chess?I think India is still far from being a global hub for esports events. You need to have a culture, like-minded people and a complete ecosystem, including organizers, players, sponsors and more. Right now, I feel like we still haven’t had a major breakthrough when it comes to esports.READ ALSO: ‘This is India’s moment’: Why the nation of 1.4 billion people now has a path to the esports world championshipWhile I know a few esports players lead very good lives in various domains, we are slowly getting there. But I feel like we’re still a long way from becoming a global hub. It will require more tournaments, more local work and more viewership to reach this stage. That said, I feel like it could happen in the next five years.