Magnus Carlsen wins Chess Esports World Cup

Magnus Carlsen won the inaugural online chess Esports World Cup held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. For the first time, chess became a featured title in the Esports World Cup.

The chess grandmaster represented Team Liquid and defeated Alireza Firouzja from Team Falcon in the final to hold the title. He claimed a whopping $250,000 prize.

The format for the grand final was designed to be a best-of-three sets, with each set made up of four 10-minute games with no increment. Carlsen won the first two sets. He grabbed victory by winning both sets with a score of 3-1.

Carlsen was in complete control throughout the match. He trapped Firouzja’s rook with a tactical sequence. Firouzja secured only one game in the entire match, which was in the second set.

After lifting the Esports World Cup trophy, Carlsen expressed his excitement that “It’s been an amazing show, unlike anything that I’ve seen so far.”

“Maybe we can get on a bigger stage next time.”

“I really hope that this is a big part of the future for chess”, he said.

Carlsen was ousted from the World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championship held in New York due to a dress code violation. He was wearing jeans and refused to defend his title.

However, the Norwegian chess grandmaster promised his fans that he would compete in a chess competition when the sport’s governing body relaxed the dress code.

Inclusion of chess in the featured title raised many eyebrows. The organisers of the event said that millions of people play this game; therefore, it is considered a part of the tournament.

The EWC was organised for the second time, 139 years after the first Chess World Champion Cup. Teams from all over the world participated in the seven-week event for 25 popular games.

The total prize announced was around $70 million.

The Esports World Cup is an event where competitors play their games on computers with big screens in front of a live audience.

Who is the world’s No. 1 player in chess?

Magnus Carlsen is the world’s best player in chess.