Chess Joins Esports: A Game-Changer for 2025

The esports industry has enjoyed a significant leap when it comes to budget increase among titles, addition of more tournaments and games to play – thanks to the success of the 2024 Esports World Cup. Now, a new player in the game enters the fray as Chess.com just announced that they will also be joining in on the hype as a tournament to play in the EWC 2025.

What is Chess?

Chess is one of the most prominent board games in the world, presenting itself as a strategy game where players command a faction of black and white set of 16 pieces each, with each piece having a varied role and move patterns. The goal of the game is of course, as you may know – to take out the King, which is the sole winning condition of the game.

Dating back 900 years ago, Chess has become a popular game across the whole globe. Foundations for Organized Chess can be tracked all the way to the 19th century, and is now governed by the Fédération Internationale des Échecs; the International Chess Federation. Online Chess also rose to prominence upon the conceptualization and further development of the internet, which now opens the path for Chess.com to make its mark on the esports stage, and it cannot be denied that it has been a shocker for a lot of people at this point in time.

How Will Chess.com Provide a Fun and Competitive Esport Experience?

GM Magnus Carlsen has lobbied well to ensure that Chess.com will be making its presence felt in 2025 after striking up a surprising partnership with the Esports World Cup Foundation. This means that Chess will now be featured for the first time in the said tournament, which will be held this July 31st to August 3rd.

At this point, Chess is a game known and beloved to all, and even young players are starting to recognize that the game is becoming even more prominent with the way it continues to evolve at a high level – seeking new platforms to increase the game’s reach. With the Esports World Cup? Well, let’s just say that the competitive chess scene is definitely welcome to the competitive esports world now more than ever.

GM Magnus Carlsen aims to reinvent chess to a whole new level image

“Bringing chess, the mother of all strategy games, to the Esports World Cup is a truly exciting moment,” said Ralf Reichert, CEO of the Esports World Cup Foundation said. “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,” he added.

With that being said, the 2025 Champions Chess Tour is expected to make its way to the Esports World Cup as the qualifying tournament that will determine which players will make their case for the global competition. Starting in 2025, there will now be two online Tour events that will be held in February and May that will offer multiple chances for players to punch their ticket to the EWC. A total of 12 players will qualify to the global stage and will then have four additional players to compete for the prizes in the long run – for a combined $300,000 prize pool.

Will Chess Set a Standard in the Esports World?

Like any other esport, we always break down to see how an esport title actually squares up to become a promising esport title in the long run – one that can come up with consistent and hyped tournaments all the way to bringing the best players in the world to the fold and highlighting them on the big stage.

So here’s how Chess’ case stands to become a competitive esport title to look out for.

Chess has a Huge Fan Following

Well, for starters, Chess is known in almost every part of the globe, and it cannot be denied that the game has a huge fan following as well. You can see various Chess theories and even discussions in almost every social media platform, and you can see a lot of people gathering in local chess tournaments. Online Chess, on the other hand, also has the same and even bigger reach. Massive tournaments between the top players in the game has become quite the big event for many fans, and the small shift in the rankings of players or even the moves made by the players are discussed from time to time. So what would you expect if the game reaches a global stage in the esports world? Probably domination.

Chess is a common board game known to all image

Chess is Known to All

As said before, Chess is a game that is known to everyone at this point. It is not that hard to play considering that it is a board game, and one can even say that Chess.com’s influence in the years to come will definitely make the game even more popular. It is easy for players to learn in just a few tries, so expect to see a rise in the volume of players as soon as Chess.com becomes a successful esport to look out for in the Esports World Cup as well. Who knows? Maybe the Champions Chess Tour will now have a bigger scope with players from many different countries now joining the fray and increase the competition’s visibility as well.

Chess is not new to fans at this point image

Chess May Bring More Board Games into the Fold

Chess is a strategy and tactic-based board game. Emphasis on the board game. There are a lot of board games out there that have entered the online scene – and even titles such as Uno, Monopoly, and Exploding Kittens all have mobile versions and PC versions of their own. Scrabble? Yes. Word Factory? Yes. At this point, everything can be digital now, and one can say that Chess is set to get the hype started with other titles also joining the EWC in the coming years. There's even this Game of the Generals from the Philippines that could have strong potential.

Chess provides the avenue for other board games to join the esports hype image

Will Chess be a Successful Entry for the 2025 Esports World Cup?

So, will Chess rise to the occasion and establish itself as a major esports contender at the 2025 Esports World Cup? With its massive global following, deep strategic roots, and the backing of Chess.com and Magnus Carlsen, it certainly looks poised to make waves. As the competitive scene shifts to embrace this legendary game, we're witnessing a new chapter in esports unfold—one where even the oldest games can claim their spot on the global stage.

As always, the question isn't just about whether Chess can succeed, but about how it'll reshape the future of esports and influence other classic titles to follow suit. What do you think? Will Chess dominate the 2025 Esports World Cup, or will it struggle to adapt to this fast-paced, high-energy world?

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