Mumbai, April 14
India’s top-ranked grandmasters Nihal Sarin and Aravindh Chithambaram will compete at the Esports World Cup (EWC) 2025, as the duo is named in S8UL's chess roster, the franchise said.
Making its debut at this year’s edition of the EWC, Chess will feature a total prize pool of USD 1.5 million (approximately Rs 12.9 crore), with Grandmaster Magnus Carlsen joining as the Global Ambassador.
The format will follow a rapid 10+0 time control, where each player will have 10 minutes per game with no increment. Players will qualify through the Champions Chess Tour’s February and May events, while a Last Chance Qualifier in Riyadh will determine the final four competitors.
Sarin, a 20-year-old chess prodigy from Thrissur, Kerala, is widely regarded as one of the brightest young talents on the global chess circuit. He began playing at the age of six and rose to prominence after winning the World Youth Chess Championship in the under-10 category in Durban. Since then, he has delivered strong international performances, including a runner-up finish in the Chess dot com Global Championship in 2022.
Most recently, he clinched the President’s Cup 2024 and followed it up with an unbeaten title run at the Tashkent Open, scoring 8 out of 10. Nihal is currently ranked 8th in India and 40th in the world, with a FIDE rating of 2687.