Now Reading: India’s chess hopes end as Nihal, Arjun exit Esports World Cup
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India’s chess hopes end as Nihal, Arjun exit Esports World Cup
India’s challenge at the Esports World Cup 2026 chess event ended on Friday after Nihal Sarin and Arjun Erigaisi lost their quarterfinal matches. Nihal fell to defending champion Magnus Carlsen 2-0, while…
The Story in Brief
India’s challenge at the Esports World Cup 2026 chess event ended on Friday after Nihal Sarin and Arjun Erigaisi lost their quarterfinal matches. Nihal fell to defending champion Magnus Carlsen 2-0, while Arjun pushed Hikaru Nakamura to Armageddon before losing. Nakamura later suffered a major upset against 19-year-old Denis Lazavik, who faces Carlsen or Alireza Firouzja in the final.
Indian players collectively earned USD 2,25,000 (approx Rs 2.15 crore). Nihal and Arjun each won USD 75,000 (approx Rs 71.7 lakh). Sportstar reports that over 10 players likely fell sick from food poisoning, limiting Friday's action. Attention now shifts to BGMI, where Indian teams GodLike Esports and S8UL have secured spots in the grand finals.
The Indian Opinion
The lockdown-era narrative that India is quietly ruling online chess now meets a reality check: our stars lost to the same elite names that dominate the board version. Hype about a new esports order must not ignore that Carlsen and Nakamura remain the benchmarks. The real test will be whether the next generation, like Denis Lazavik, can dislodge them. Indian esports also needs to fix basic player welfare, food poisoning at a global event is amateurish for a USD 2 crore prize pool.
Source: sportstar.thehindu.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
