If you thought chess was just an old-school board game reserved for quiet corners of libraries and Netflix shows starring Anya Taylor-Joy, think again. Chess is making major moves in 2025 and might become a new kind of esport to watch closely.
With the inclusion of chess in the Esports World Cup (EWC) in Saudi Arabia this summer and major esports organizations signing Grandmasters like Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana, chess is setting itself as a new contender in the esports scene.
But can chess be considered an actual esport beside games like Starcraft? Let’s take a look at how chess is trying to break through the esports scene and what could be next for chess in the upcoming years.
Chess is joining the Esports World Cup
The 2025 Esports World Cup (EWC) will take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where the chess prize fund alone will be $1.5m. It will also feature some of the most popular esports games in the world, such as League of Legends, Counter-Strike, Rocket League, and Valorant.
Among these legacy esports, a newcomer was announced: chess. While the addition of this traditional board game might be a surprise, chess has been trying to break into the esports scene for quite a while now.
Online platforms like Chess.com have brought the traditional, calm board game into a digital format. On top of giving chess players an opportunity to face opponents online, Chess.com hosts an annual Speed Chess Championship—a popular blitz chess tournament that combines faster gameplay with live streaming and commentary.
This faster approach to chess and its live broadcast on streaming platforms draws in viewers who wouldn’t normally sit down to watch a game of chess. It also led to the rise of chess’s popularity on streaming platforms like Twitch, paired with the rise of chess drama, constantly surrounding the community.
According to Stream Charts, over the past few months chess has gathered an average of 5,000 viewers on Twitch. While that remains far from the average 120,000 viewers watching League of Legends every month, chess viewership numbers are growing steadily.
“If chess is going to be played on a physical board and merely streamed online, I don’t think it changes the nature of the game. Right now, chess isn’t fundamentally different from a live broadcast of any traditional sport, so it doesn’t fall into the esports category in my opinion.”
Since the pandemic, chess has turned into something different. All real-life events had to be held online, starting a new wave of chess players discovering the game through its digital version. Since the beginning of 2020, more than 100 million people have signed up to play on Chess.com.
The 2023 Olympic Esports Week even held a chess event, further solidifying chess’s place in the esports scene. But 2025 marks a watershed moment as chess joins the mainstream competitive gaming circuit at the Esports World Cup, putting it on par financially with many established digital titles.
Esports organizations sign chess Grandmasters
One of the most compelling signs of chess’s evolution into the esports realm is the move by major esports organizations to sign chess players just as they would any top-tier esports player.
Team Liquid has recently made headlines by signing Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana for an undisclosed amount. While these chess players may not be as popular as some of the best League of Legends players, they have been dominating chess for years.
Magnus Carlsen is the bad boy of the chess world. He is a five-time World Chess Champion, five-time World Rapid Chess Champion, and the current reigning eight-time World Blitz Chess Champion. The chess prodigy earned the title of Grandmaster at only 13 years old.
Over 20 years later, Carlsen is still consistently winning global competitions. To put it bluntly, he’s the best chess player in the world.
You want details? Fine. I drive a Ferrari, 355 Cabriolet. What’s up? I have a ridiculous house in the South Fork. I have every toy you could possibly imagine, and best of all, kids? I am… @TeamLiquid pic.twitter.com/NaE8rOvSuo
— Magnus Carlsen (@MagnusCarlsen) February 14, 2025
Fabiano Caruana, America’s youngest chess Grandmaster, is the reigning four-time United States Chess Champion and currently—the fifth-highest-rated player in the world. Carlsen and Caruana played against each other in top-tier chess events, with Caruana losing the World Chess Championship to Carlsen in the rapid tiebreaks after drawing all twelve of the classical games.
Both players will represent Team Liquid ahead of the 2025 Esports World Cup. Meanwhile, former world championship contender Ian Nepomniachtchi has joined Aurora Gaming, and other major esports organizations have signed some of the best chess players of all time.
Here’s a recap of which chess Grandmasters signed with an esports organization, as well as their rankings:
| Esports Organization | Chess Grandmaster |
|---|---|
| Team Liquid | Fabiano Caruana (#4), Magnus Carlsen (#1) |
| LGD Gaming | Ding Liren (#2) |
| Aurora Gaming | Ian Nepomniachtchi (#3) |
| Weibo Gaming | Wei Yi (#6) |
| Team Vitality | Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (#8) |
| Team Falcons | Hikaru Nakamura (#10) |
| Natus Vincere | Nodirbek Abdusattorov (#11), Wesley So (#14), Olexandr Bortnyk (#57) |
| Gen.G Esports | Arjun Erigaisi (#18) |
| All Gamers | Volodar Murzin (#66) |
Is chess an esports?
The conversation about chess in esports is as much about identity as it is about competition. Traditional chess players, steeped in the game’s 1,500-year history and long-established rituals, see chess as more than a game—it’s a mental discipline that has remained largely unchanged over centuries.
Contrast that with the world of esports, where fast gameplay, game-clutching moments, and intense competitions define the scene. Esports fans thrive on rapid decision-making and fast-paced action with flashy graphics. There’s always something happening in an esports match, and a player could turn the tides of the game at any moment.
Even though chess is making a digital turn, it won’t be a direct substitute for titles like League of Legends or CS:GO. Chess is carving its own niche in esport, blending the frontier between physical and digital games.
Whether chess will make it to the global esports scene and be recognized as such by players remains to be seen. Either way, chess has officially become cool, and its rising popularity online is attracting new players every day.
