GM Aravindh Chithambaram becomes first Indian chess player to qualify for World Esports Championship 2026

ByTech Word News

Aravindh Chithambaram (second from left) NEW DELHI: Indian Grandmaster Aravindh Chithambaram has become the first Indian player to qualify for the Esports World Cup (EWC) 2026 Chess Main Event after winning the Road to EWC qualifier at DreamHack Atlanta.The 26-year-old produced a composed display in the high-pressure rapid format, where matches consisted of two 10-minute non-incremental games, followed by Armageddon tiebreaks when necessary. The tournament featured two double-elimination groups, with the top four players from each group advancing to the playoffs. Aravindh advanced from Pool B after wins over Kyler Raines, Justin Liang, Oleksander Bortnyk and Christopher Woo. He then defeated Woo 2-1 in the Upper Bracket semifinals to win the match at Armageddon after two draws. In the Upper Bracket final, Aravindh edged Alexey Sarana by the same margin to secure a place in the grand final.The summit turned into a dramatic affair after Sarana, who came through the lower bracket, won the opening two matches. However, Aravindh fought back under pressure and sealed the title by winning the Armageddon decider.With the triumph, Aravindh secured USD 15,000 (approximately Rs 14 crore) and one of the eight confirmed spots in the EWC 2026 Chess Main Event, which is scheduled for August 11-15 with a prize pool of USD 1.5 million.“Qualifying the World Esports Championship this year is a very proud and exciting moment for me, especially with so many top players and organizations from around the world competing at this event. This particular format leaves very little room for error as every decision matters when you’re playing 10-minute games without boost against some of the strongest players in the world,” said Aravindh after the win.“I am also very grateful to the team at S8UL for their continued support and belief in me since last year. Their approach to chess and nurturing Indian talent has been incredibly encouraging and I look forward to representing the organization and giving my all at the main event.”

4 qualified players from DreamHack Atlanta

  • Aravindh Chithambaram
  • Alexey Means
  • Andrei Esipenko
  • Liem Lee

They were joined by Magnus Carlsen, Alireza Firouzja, Denis Lazavik and Jan-Krzysztof Duda. Esports World Cup 2026 has 21 slots.Indian Grandmasters Nihal Sarin and Pranesh M also remain in contention to qualify through the Champions Chess Tour Leaderboard and Last Chance Qualifiers.