Chess is making its debut at the 2025 Esports World Cup in Saudi Arabia, with $1.5 million on the line. Ahead of the first pieces being moved around the board, 5-time world champion from Norway, Magnus Carlsen, sat down with CNN’s Eleni Giokos to discuss the impact of chess joining Esports World Cup.

Riyadh

Chess has made its debut at the Esports World Cup in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, signaling a significant moment for the game as it continues to embrace digital platforms. The move follows a surge in online chess activity, particularly during periods when live tournaments were not possible, and represents a step towards hybrid events with larger audiences and higher stakes.

The inclusion of chess in the Esports World Cup is seen as a reflection of the game's increasing accessibility and popularity among younger, digitally engaged audiences. Advances in technology have made learning and following chess easier, contributing to a trend where players achieve grandmaster status at younger ages. Organizers and participants believe that esports, including chess, will continue to grow as a popular form of entertainment.

Chess makes Esports World Cup debut in Saudi Arabia

I think this is a massive moment for chess. Chess has become more and more online over the last few years, especially since COVID, when we couldn't host live tournaments and online was what we had. Those online tournaments became bigger and bigger, and it feels like this is the next step to have these hybrid events. We've had a couple of little test runs where we've had chess events in esports settings, but this is obviously going to be for much bigger stakes, for a bigger audience, for a different audience. So I'm really, really excited to be part of this and to bring chess to a new audience. Do you think that this is a turning point for chess in a big way that has become a lot more digital now? I mean, this is a game that's over 1,500 years old and it's like firmly into the digital arena now. The funny thing about chess is that it is, as you said, a bit of an ancient game and an analog game, but it's also kind of made for the digital age because it's so simple to kind of translate. Chess has also become faster and faster over the years and this kind of reflects that as well. So I think it is just the perfect fit. You became a grandmaster at the age of 13. It's incredible to think about your trajectory over the years. And I wonder what you think of this new generation that's so firmly into esports and other games and where chess fits into all of this. It's a fantastic thing that we have this new digital age where information is so easily available. It means that the game is much more accessible to fans. You have engines that can show you how the games are going and it sort of demystifies the game, but it also makes it a lot more accessible. All these tools make it so much easier for both kids and adults to improve on their chess a lot. And I think that's part of why you're seeing a lot of kids these days. They become very, very strong at a very early age. I became a grandmaster at 13. Now kids routinely become grandmasters at earlier ages and then back you've seen three-year-old rated chess players as well and nine-year-olds and ten-year-olds gaining titles. So certainly chess players are getting young. The audience is getting younger as well and more digital. So it's really an exciting time. The Esports World Cup inaugural event was last year here in Riyadh in Saudi Arabia, second year. The Saudis really want to build a legacy around this. Do you believe that Esports, that includes chess, is the new frontier of the sporting world? I think that the organizers definitely believe a lot in Esports and I'm happy that chess is part of that as well. I think Esports are becoming more and more the choice of entertainment for kids, both to play and to watch. So it's definitely in keeping with the time and then I think this event will only grow and grow as time passes.

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