Top chess grandmasters signed with esports teams in 2025

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February 2025 saw a wave of surprising announcements linking chess with esports. Clubs traditionally focused on video games (and occasionally livestreaming) began signing professional chess players at an unprecedented rate. The most high-profile move came when the legendary Magnus Carlsen joined Team Liquid, one of the most recognizable brands in competitive gaming. Chess Watch takes a closer look at the grandmasters joining esports organizations and the factors driving this trend.

The trend kicked off on February 2, when the Chinese gaming organization All Gamers, founded in 1999, announced the signing of young Russian grandmaster Volodar Murzin. Murzin had made headlines at the 2024 FIDE World Chess Championship in Blitz and Rapid: he finished 5th–8th in Blitz, falling to the renowned Ian Nepomniachtchi, but dominated the Rapid event, becoming the only player to score 10 points with seven wins, six draws, and no losses.

Did you know?

Actually, this isn’t the first time esports organizations have signed chess players: the trend first emerged during the pandemic. We covered it in more detail here.

In the two weeks after AG’s announcement, several more chess grandmasters joined esports organizations. Teams from around the world jumped in: South Korea’s Gen.G, best known for its success in League of Legends and Valorant, entered the chess scene, while France’s Team Vitality, a dominant force in Counter-Strike and Rocket League, followed suit. Ukraine’s Natus Vincere, a legendary name in Counter-Strike and Dota 2, also made a move. Meanwhile, Team Liquid, a multi-title champion, made headlines by signing not just Magnus Carlsen but also Fabiano Caruana.

Chess players signed with esports teams (2025)

*As of February 17, 2025

Why are esports organizations entering the chess scene?

Starting this year, chess and esports are poised to be more connected than ever. The driving force behind esports organizations signing grandmasters is the Esports World Cup (EWC). As one of the largest gaming and esports events of the season, EWC stands out for both its wide range of featured titles and its massive prize pool. Last year’s inaugural event, for example, offered an astonishing $62,500,000 in total prize money.

In 2025, alongside video games, EWC organizers added chess to the list of featured titles by partnering with Chess.com. According to the official announcement, both parties are very excited about this collaboration and see great potential in it for expanding the audience of both EWC and chess itself.

“With its rich history, global appeal, and thriving competitive scene, chess is a perfect fit for our mission to unite the world's most popular games and their passionate communities.”

Ralf Reichert, CEO of Esports World Cup Foundation

Magnus Carlsen himself also shared his thoughts on the partnership:

“This partnership is an incredible opportunity to grow the game, by introducing chess to new audiences and inspiring the next generation of players.”

The prize pool for the chess tournament at EWC will be a lucrative $1.5 million. This is not only the largest prize pool among third-party events by a significant margin, but also the highest prize pool for a fast-paced chess event overall. For comparison, the FIDE World Rapid Chess Championship 2024 had a total prize pool of $778,500 (for both the men’s and women’s tournaments combined). In fact, only the World Chess Championship title match offers a larger prize pool in the chess world.

EWC 2025 chess event's competitors will play in a rapid 10+0 format. The tournament will feature twelve players, who will qualify through the Champions Chess Tour, with two online events in February and May 2025. A final Last Chance Qualifier in Riyadh will determine the last four players, open to both amateurs and professionals. The finals of the event will take place from July 31 to August 3, 2025.

As organizers of the Esports World Cup put it, 'chess is esports.' The stakes are high, and this year’s event will go a long way in determining if that statement is true. If the event captures enough attention from the online audience (with EWC viewers being primarily younger fans), it could set a precedent for chess being included in future editions of EWC.