Every chess player signed to an esports organisation ahead of EWC

The trend of esports organisations expanding into chess shows no signs of slowing down. In recent months, several teams have signed the best players in the world with the aim of competing on the biggest stages the strategy game has to offer.

Chess was unveiled as a tournament at the Esports World Cup in December 2024, and since then, esports organisations participating in the competition have continued to attract talent from across the world — and from the top of the chess leaderboard.

Updated on 14/04/25: With more organisations entering chess, this article has been updated with all of the confirmed signings so far.

French esports organisation Team Vitality was one of the first to expand its operations into chess for the EWC. In February 2025, it signed Grandmaster Maxime ‘MVL’ Vachier-Lagrave to represent the organisation across the international chess circuit.

In addition to the EWC, MVL represents Team Vitality in the Champions Chess Tour. He placed in the top 23 for the Chessable Masters event which concluded on February 21st, 2025.

The esports division of the English football club Wolverhampton Wanderers has also embarked on fielding chess players.

On February 27th, the organisation signed Yu Yangyi, China’s youngest Grandmaster, who will represent the organisation at the EWC, featuring a $1.5m (~£1.2m) prize pool.

Ukrainian organisation NAVI (Natus Vincere) announced a significant expansion into chess on February 17th, 2025, with the signing of three players to its ranks.

Sixth in the world Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Wesley So and Oleksandr Bortnyk all competed in the first Chessable Masters competition of 2025, with So finishing in the top 16.

All three players look to represent the organisation at the EWC, a competition where NAVI is part of the Club programme.

Serbian organisation Aurora Gaming has also made the leap into the world of professional chess with the signing of Blitz Chess World Champion Ian Neopmniachtchi.

Currently ranked tenth in the world, the Russian pro will compete in the Champions Chess Tour under the organisation’s banner at the EWC beginning on June 28th.

Saudi Arabian organisation Team Falcons will also field a chess Grandmaster at the EWC and other competitions. On February 18th, it announced the signing of Hikaru Nakamura, who’s currently ranked second in the world, according to the Chess.com rankings.

Nakamura is no stranger to representing esports organisations. In 2020, he represented North American organisation TSM as a streamer in a deal worth six figures.

In March, the organisation announced the signing of Grandmaster Alireza Firouzja, taking its chess roster to two. Team Falcons is one of the only esports organisations to field two players ranked in the top ten.

Leo Team is the second Ukrainian esports organisation to field a chess player.

The organisation signed 2003 Grandmaster Anton Korobov to its roster with the aim of qualifying for the EWC.

Russian organisation Team Spirit has also unveiled its representative for chess. In April, grandmaster Vladislav Artemiev joined the organisation following a string of victories in March.

The Russian player sits in ninth place in the CCT rankings, with 20 points earned from the Chessable Masters event. In the same announcement, Team Spirit also announced Daniil Dubov as a signed player.

The next ranked event is the CCT’s May event and will be the last chance for players to earn points to earn qualification for the EWC.

Another notable name to expand into chess is Team Secret. In April, the organisation signed Anish Giri to its roster.

Currently ranked in joint-ninth place in the CCT rankings, Giri is one of several players in contention of qualifying for the EWC later this year.

The top 24 players from the CCT’s May Event will earn points that determine rankings for the inaugural tournament, with 100 awarded to the winner and guaranteeing a place in Saudi Arabia.

Chinese organisation LGD Gaming is one of a handful of esports organisations from Asia fielding a chess player so far.

On February 14th, it announced the signing of former World Champion Ding Liren, who’s returning to chess after taking a competitive hiatus in December 2024.

Similar to NAVI, LGD Gaming is one of 30 organisations that form part of the EWC’s Club programme, which offers financial capital aiming to ensure the stability of organisations.

Weibo Gaming has also expanded into professional chess. On February 16th, the Chinese organisation signed world number seven Wei Yi to its roster.

The first tournament under the organisation saw Yi finish the Chessable Masters with a top 12 placement.

Founded in 1999, All Gamers is one of the oldest esports organisations in the world. Like many, the Chinese organisation expanded into chess in February with the signing of Volodar Murzin.

Murzin is the defending Rapid Chess World Champion and recently placed fourth in the Djerba International Chess Festival.

Global esports organisation Gen.G is another notable name that has ventured into the world of professional chess.

In February, the organisation signed Indian grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi to represent it across several tournaments including the EWC. Currently ranked fifth in the Chess Champions Tour standings, Erigaisi is poised to secure a place at the multi-title event taking place in July and August.

The most recent esports organisation to enter chess is S8UL Esports through the signings of Nihal Sarin and Aravindh Chithambaram.

Like several top names in chess, Sarin and Chithambaram compete in the Chess Champions Tour. The latter is ranked 17th and the former sits in 24th position. The top 12 players will earn direct qualification to the EWC meaning some strong performances are required for S8UL Esports to earn a place in Riyadh.

North American esports organisation Team Liquid has already cemented its place at the top of chess with the signings of Fabiano Caruana and world number one Magnus Carlsen.

The organisation was one of the first in the world to expand into chess and immediately made an impact by adding two of the world’s best players to its lineup.

Most recently, Carlsen won the Chessable Masters competition, while Caruana finished in the top 12.

So far, Team Liquid’s Carlsen, Team Falcons’ Nakamura and Aurora Gaming’s Nepomniachtchi are the only players to qualify for the EWC so far.

The tournament will feature the top 12 players based on CCT points along with four who make it through a last-chance qualifier.

First published: 03/03/25