In February 2025 some big news hit the internet about chess and esports. Esports teams, which are usually into video games and sometimes streaming started signing top chess grandmasters fast. The biggest deal of them all was when Magnus Carlsen joined Team Liquid.
If you are a competitive gamer, you’ve probably heard of Team Liquid, or Team Falcons, which managed to sign Carlsen’s biggest rival Hikaru Nakamura.
In this article, we cover this recent wave of signings carried out by various esports organizations that are looking to include chess as a new gaming discipline for the upcoming Esports World Cup (EWC).
The rise of online gaming
Online gaming has been on a roll lately with every corner of the scene blowing up. Chess has seen a huge spike in players thanks to streaming platforms and Champions Chess Tour top-tier tournaments while video games keep pulling in massive crowds with titles like Valorant and League of Legends.
Even online casino games are riding the wave with websites like Temple of Games offering a slick lineup of slots and table games that keep players hooked. It’s all part of this broader boom in digital competition that has gotten esports organizations eyeing chess pros for their next big move.
When did the trend start?
This whole trend kicked off on February 2 when All Gamers, a Chinese gaming crew started back in 1999 said they’d signed up Volodar Murzin. Murzin is a young Russian grandmaster who got international recognition following his brilliant performances last year.
The Russian grandmaster was all over the news after the 2024 FIDE World Chess Championship in Blitz and Rapid.
He managed a top 8 finish in Blitz after losing to the famous Ian Nepomniachtchi but crushed it in Rapid by racking up 10 points with seven wins, six draws, and no losses; a feat that no one else has ever achieved!
A couple of weeks after All Gamers dropped their news, a bunch more chess grandmasters started signing with esports teams. Squads from all over got in on it.
South Korea’s Gen.G, big in League of Legends and Valorant stepped into chess territory by signing world number four and India’s number one, Arjun Erigaisi. France-based Team Vitality and a powerhouse in Counter-Strike and Rocket League quickly signed France number 2, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. Ukraine’s Natus Vincere, a name you can’t miss in Counter-Strike and Dota 2 joined the party too.
Then there’s Team Liquid, champions across several games, who made headlines by picking up Magnus Carlsen and current world number 2 Fabiano Caruana.
Esports meets chess: The reason behind the signing of chess pros in 2025
The big reason chess players are hopping onto esports teams right now is the upcoming Esports World Cup. It will feature rapid chess alongside popular video games like Counter-Strike and League of Legends.
The “Esports meets Chess” announcement was made official back in December 2024. It was revealed that the 64-square and 32-piece board game will be included in the EWC lineup and Magnus Carlsen got tapped as the global ambassador for it.
The chess part of the tournament has an amazing $1.5 million prize pool which blows most other third-party events out of the water and doubles what they offered at the 2024 FIDE Rapid Chess Championship for both the men’s and women’s events combined.
What big names have joined esports organizations?
Magnus Carlsen, Fabiano Caruana, and Hikaru Nakamura are definitely the biggest names who joined esports teams. Carlsen, the “GOAT of chess” is a five-time World Chess Champion; five-time World Rapid Chess Champion; eight-time World Blitz Chess Champion; and world number one for almost a decade and a half now.
Team Liquid was also pleased to announce the signing of former world championship title contender and four-time U.S. Chess Champion Fabiano Caruana.
Team Falcons on the other hand revealed their signing of the most famous chess player in terms of content creation and streaming Hikaru Nakamura via a post on X saying, “The next big move in chess and esports is here! Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura has officially joined Team Falcons, bringing his world-class skill, speed, and strategy to our team.
The “Big 3” in chess, Carlsen, Hikaru, and Fabiano competed at the Champions Chess Tour Chessable Masters 2025 while representing their esports teams.
As many fans would have predicted, Team Liquid’s Magnus Carlsen went on to win the event after thrashing Team Falcon’s Hikaru Nakamura in the Grand Final with a score of 2.5-1.5. This marked the first win for Carlsen under an esports organization.
Another big name that joined esports is none other than current World Blitz Champion GM Ian Nepomniachtchi. Serbian esports organization Aurora Gaming, best known for its performances in Apex Legends managed to snag the two-time world-championship contender on 18th February.
Three super grandmasters, Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Wesley So, and Olexandr Bortnyk joined Ukraine-based Natus Vincere on February 15.
Meanwhile, Chinese organizations Weibo Gaming and LGD Gaming managed to sign some big names. Weibo Gaming brought in China’s number one Wei Yi while LGD made headlines by recruiting former World Chess Champion Ding Liren.
