Chess.com Classic Starts May 18 With 9 Esports World Cup Spots On The Line
We're excited to announce the 2025 Chess.com Classic, the last online event of this year's Champions Chess Tour (CCT). The event takes place between May 18 and May 23 and will feature some of the strongest players in the world. At stake are $150,000 and the last CCT Points, which will, in turn, determine the nine remaining players qualifying for the $1.5 million 2025 Esports World Cup (EWC) via the CCT.
The Chess.com Classic will pit eight invited players against another eight players who get through the qualifiers and Play-In. Among the invited players is world number-one GM Magnus Carlsen, the winner of the previous CCT event this year. His performance in the 2025 Chessable Masters has taken him to the top of the CCT Leaderboard, guaranteeing his spot at the EWC.
Fans can also count on the presence of world number-two GM Hikaru Nakamura. The American has also earned enough points to guarantee his spot at the EWC for his second-place finish in the Chessable Masters.
Like Carlsen and Nakamura, another invited player already has a ticket to the EWC. GM Ian Nepomniachtchi, who finished third in the previous CCT event, is also coming back for more.
The three giants have all been signed to represent different esports organizations: Carlsen will play for Team Liquid, Nakamura for Team Falcons, and Nepomniachtchi for Aurora Gaming.
Also fighting for a chance to qualify for the EWC are two players who dominated the chess news last year. World Champion Gukesh Dommaraju and the previous world champion, GM Ding Liren, are both joining the fight for their place in chess's inaugural run at the EWC.
The Chess.com Classic kicks off with the qualifiers for non-grandmasters on May 18 at 11 a.m. ET / 17:00 CEST / 8:30 p.m. IST. The Play-In starts a day later at the same time, with the Playoffs taking place from May 20 to May 23. Tune in to Chess.com's Twitch and YouTube channels to enjoy the last event of the CCT and cheer on as your favorite players try to make it to this year's EWC!
Who do you think will make it to the Esports World Cup? Let us know in the comments below!
