Chess and Esports Form a Surprising Alliance in 2025
Chess, the ancient game of strategy, is teaming up with the fast-paced world of esports. This new partnership aims to bring more fans to both sides by blending online play and big events. It started gaining speed with chess’s debut at the Esports World Cup in 2025, showing how these two worlds can grow together.
The Esports World Cup, held in Saudi Arabia, is a major gaming festival that lasts eight weeks. In 2025, chess joined for the first time with a prize pool of $1.5 million. Sixteen top players qualified through the Champions Chess Tour, run by the online site Chess.com. To fit the esports style, games used a quick 10-minute time limit per player, with no extra seconds added. This setup makes matches faster and more thrilling, as mistakes can happen under pressure.
Several groups are making this happen. Chess.com works closely with the Esports World Cup Foundation on a three-year deal. Team Liquid, a top esports team, has signed star chess players to build their roster. The International Chess Federation, or FIDE, backs the move but stresses keeping traditional long games alive. FIDE’s leader, Emil Sutovsky, said, “If chess can reach more people through new teams, the whole community wins.”
This link-up helps chess reach younger gamers who stream on platforms like Twitch. Shows like “The Queen’s Gambit” already boosted chess’s popularity, and now esports adds even more eyes. Steve Arhancet, head of Team Liquid, explained, “Gamers and chess fans share a lot of traits, so this feels like a natural fit.” For esports teams, chess offers a steady way to make money, unlike some video games that change quickly.
Players like world number five Fabiano Caruana see the shift to shorter games as what fans want. He noted, “People enjoy quicker matches that feel more lively.” Esports World Cup boss Ralf Reichert added that they aim to “grow any game they join, and chess is already strong.”
As this partnership grows, it could change how we see competitive gaming. Chess brings deep thinking to esports, while esports gives chess a modern stage. Both stand to gain from sharing fans and ideas in the years ahead.
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