S8UL's Nihal Sarin qualifies for Chess Esports World Cup 2025 main event; R Praggnanandhaa bows out

The Last Chance Qualifiers of the Chess Esports World Cup 2025 have concluded with the top four players qualifying for the main event. The two prominent personalities from India were competing in the LCQ, where Nihal Sarin, representing Indian club S8UL, qualified for the main event, while one of the favorites to win the title, Team Liquid's R Praggnanandhaa, was eliminated from the tournament. The Chess Esports World Cup 2025 main event will take place from 29 July to 1 August at Boulevard Riyadh City, Saudi Arabia. 

S8UL's Nihal Sarin qualifies for Chess Esports World Cup 2025 Main Event 

The 21-year-old Indian Grandmaster, Nihal Sarin, qualified for the main event of Chess EWC 2025 by being undefeated in the playoffs of the Last Chance Qualifiers. He defeated Denis Lazavik, Anish Giri, and Andrey Esipenko to qualify for the main event. 

On the other hand, R. Praggnanandhaa won the Upper Bracket Round 1 against Jules Moussard but lost the Upper Bracket Round 2 to Andrey Esipenko by 2:0 and moved to the lower brackets. In Lower Bracket Round 2, he beat Alexet Saran by 1.5:0.5; however, he lost the next game, Lower Bracket Semi Finals, to Anish Giri and knocked out of the tournament. 

All qualified players for the Main Event from the Lower Bracket Qualifiers

• Nihal Sarin
• Javokhir Sindarov
• Anish Giri
• Levon Aronian

Chess EWC 2025 Main Event: Dates, Format, Teams and Players

The Chess Esports World Cup 2025 Main Event will be played from 29 July to 1 August. A total of 16 players will compete for the prestigious trophy and massive prize pool of $15,00,000.

Format

The tournament has two stages. In Stage 1, there are 4 groups with 4 players in each group. They will play in the GSL format. Each player gets 10 minutes to play, and there is no extra time added. If the match ends in a tie, an Armageddon game will decide the winner. Each match has 2 games.

In Stage 2, it's a knockout round. Players who lose are out. The time control stays the same, 10 minutes with no extra time, and Armageddon will break any tie. In the quarterfinals (Ro8), players will play 4 games. In the semifinals (Ro4), they will play 6 games. The Grand Final is best of 3 sets. The first two sets have 4 games each, and if needed, the final set will have 2 games.

Teams and Players