Chess Added to the 2026 Esports Nations Cup Roster

The Esports World Cup Foundation (EWCF) has officially added Chess to its lineup for the international nations vs. nations competition, the Esports Nations Cup (ENC), as announced on Saturday.

Thanks to a partnership with Chess.com, Chess joins the ranks of other previously confirmed titles like Dota 2, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, FATAL FURY: City of the Wolves, and Trackmania.

The chess events at the Esports Nations Cup 2026 will see 128 players from various nations battling it out in a group stage followed by playoffs, culminating in a grand final showdown between the top two competitors.

Kicking off on November 2 and wrapping up with the playoff final on November 8, the tournament will feature a round-robin group stage with 128 players divided into 16 groups of eight. The top four players from each group will advance to the next phase. The second stage will consist of 64 players competing in a single-elimination playoff bracket. All group stage matches will be best-of-two, while the round robins for the 64 and 32 matches will also follow the best-of-two format. The quarterfinals and later rounds will shift to best-of-four matches. In case of ties, Armageddon games will serve as tie-breakers, and the event will utilize a Rapid 10+0 time control format.

ENC will determine direct invites based on the official CCT rankings, allowing only one player per nation. The Titled Tuesday Spring Split will act as an additional tie-breaker if there aren’t 64 unique nations represented in the CCT rankings. The deadline for establishing direct invites to ENC 2026 is May 26.

ENC will host two regional qualifiers in each region on June 6-7 and June 13-14. Each qualifier will feature a Swiss stage followed by a double-elimination stage, with four players from each qualifier advancing to ENC, totaling eight players per region. Chess.com will manage the qualifiers, which will take place in various regions.

Each nation can send up to two representatives to the event. If a nation has a player directly invited through the rankings, only one additional player can qualify through the regional qualifier.

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