eSports Insider · Feb 9
Chess announced for the Esports Nations Cup 2026
Image credit: Esports World Cup FoundationThe Esports World Cup Foundation has announced that Chess will join the inaugural Esports Nations Cup (ENC) 2026 line-up.
The Chess tournament at ENC will run from November 2nd to 8th, 2026, where 128 players will go head to head to be crowned its first champion.
Out of the 128 players participating, 64 of them will be invited based on the Champions Chess Tour rankings. One player will be invited per nation, with the Titled Tuesday Spring Split serving as an additional tie-breaker should the event fail to find 64 unique nations. Cut-off date for direct invites is May 26th, 2026