Arjun, Murzin Become First Chess Stars Signed Ahead Of Esports World Cup
Two of the chess world's hottest young stars, GMs Volodar Murzin and Arjun Erigaisi, have become two of the first players to sign with major Esports organizations ahead of the 2025 Esports World Cup (EWC).
Chess will make its historic debut at the Esports World Cup, the world’s largest gaming and esports festival, set to take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from July 31 to August 3. The ambitious gaming initiative aims to bring together a variety of gaming titles, now including chess.
To qualify for the EWC, top players will compete in two key online events within the 2025 Champions Chess Tour, beginning with the $150,000 Chessable Masters, which starts February 16. The qualification process has fueled an intense race between esports organizations to recruit top players to ensure they have the best talent on their rosters before the summer showdown.
World number four Arjun has now become the first big star to be signed by a major esports organization. Gen.G, also known as Generation Gaming, announced their draft in a tweet on Wednesday.
Gen.G shared a spectacular AI-generated video on X/Twitter, calling the Indian grandmaster "the most interesting chess player alive."
I’m excited! https://t.co/AkFAFuC1I4
— Arjun Erigaisi (@ArjunErigaisi) February 6, 2025
"It’s definitely exciting because this one is very unique and I believe the Esports World Cup will open up new doors for the chess world," Arjun told Chess.com, adding that the deal lasts until the end of the EWC.
This one is very unique and I believe the Esports World Cup will open up new doors for the chess world.
—Arjun Erigaisi
Asked about his thoughts on the video, he said: "It is a very funny and cool video! It’s tough to pinpoint one person as the most interesting chess player because there are a few around but I’d say I’m one of them!"
This deal is Arjun's second since signing a $1.5 million contract with Singapore-based quantitative trading firm Quantbox in 2022.
Meanwhile, 18-year-old Murzin, who stunned the chess world when he sensationally became the World Rapid Champion in New York, has joined Vietnamese-Chinese esports organization AG Global.
The young grandmaster is currently playing in Al-Beruniy International in Uzbekistan, before he heads to the Djerba Chess Festival, a strong 10-player round-robin event in Tunisia. "Volodar is happy to join such a strong team and organization," his mother, Ekaterina Murzina, told Chess.com.
"There are many strong online tournaments, but the Esports World Cup will be something special in chess. I hope that will help chess to rise to a new level," she said, adding: "It will be a new experience for Volodar."
Welcoming the Rapid World Champion - to AGGlobal Esports!
— All Gamers - AG Global (@AGGlobalEsports) February 2, 2025
The world champion, the winner - Volodar Murizin! 🌟#AGGLOBAL #GOAG #ALLGAMERS #AGG pic.twitter.com/VVeeooG2S9
Details about the deals have not been disclosed, but esports salaries tend to vary from five-figure to multimillion deals for the highest-profile players. The total prize pool in the Esports World Cup is $60 million, with $1.5 million going to chess alone.
Arjun and Murzin follow in the footsteps of GM Hikaru Nakamura, who signed a deal with esports organization TSM in 2020. He moved to Misfits Gaming in 2022. Other profilic creators such as WFM Alexandra Botez, WFM Anna Cramling and WGM Nemo Zhou also have signed deals with esports organizations.
Tarjei J. Svensen is a Norwegian chess journalist who worked for some of the country's biggest media outlets and appeared on several national TV broadcasts. Between 2015 and 2019, he ran his chess website mattogpatt.no, covering chess news in Norwegian and partly in English.
In 2020, he was hired by Chess24 to cover chess news, eventually moving to Chess.com as a full-time chess journalist in 2023. He is also known for his extensive coverage of chess news on his X/Twitter account.
