Grandmasters Nihal Sarin (S8UL Esports) and Arjun Erigaisi (Gen.G Esports) secured their places in the chess quarterfinals at the Esports World Cup (EWC) 2026 in Paris on 13 August, advancing through the lower bracket on the final day of the group stage. Both players will now lead India's challenge in the last eight on Friday, competing for a share of the $1.5 million (₹14.3 crore) prize pool.

Nihal Sarin's Path Through the Lower Bracket

Nihal Sarin opened his day with a tightly fought lower bracket matchup against Team Nemesis' Wei Yi. The first two games ended in draws, forcing an Armageddon tiebreaker — which Sarin won to advance to the lower bracket decider. He then faced Weibo Gaming's Jan-Krzysztof Duda, drawing the opening game before winning the second to clinch his playoff berth.

Notably, this marks Sarin's second consecutive EWC quarterfinal appearance. At last year's edition, he was eliminated by eventual champion Magnus Carlsen of Team Liquid. 'Firstly, I am just extremely happy to make the top eight again and to have managed to play some good chess in some really tough matches,' Sarin said after qualifying. 'The format is very short, and you need to be sharp from the start. Getting just one win can make a huge difference psychologically. I am relieved to pull through and hope to do well tomorrow.'

All-Indian Decider: Erigaisi Ends Pranesh's Run

S8UL's Pranesh M kept his playoff hopes alive by defeating Team MGD1's Benjamin Bok in a lower bracket match. Pranesh won the opening game and came close to sealing the tie in the second, but Bok forced an Armageddon tiebreaker. The tiebreaker ended in a draw, with Pranesh — playing with the Black pieces — advancing on tiebreak rules.

That result set up an all-Indian lower bracket decider between Pranesh and Arjun Erigaisi. Erigaisi prevailed 2-0, joining Sarin in the quarterfinals and ending Pranesh's campaign. The result completed Group A's playoff lineup. Erigaisi, who finished fourth at last year's edition, will be looking to go further this time. 'I am happy I got the job done. It is not going to be easy (to lift the trophy) with strong players like Alireza, Magnus and others, but I'll just focus on giving my best,' he said.

Group B Developments

In Group B, Aurora Gaming's Ian Nepomniachtchi defeated Virtus.pro's Andrey Esipenko 1.5-0.5 to set up a lower bracket decider against AG.AL's Denis Lazavik. Separately, Team Stallions' Sina Movahed defeated Fnatic's Alexey Sarana in an Armageddon tiebreaker to advance to a decider against GodLike Esports' Hans Moke Niemann. The winners of those two ties will complete the eight-player quarterfinal field.

Quarterfinal Format and What's Next

The full playoff bracket also includes defending champion Magnus Carlsen, Team Falcons' Alireza Firouzja, Hikaru Nakamura, and Natus Vincere's Nodirbek Abdusattorov. The playoffs run Friday and Saturday in a single-elimination format. Quarterfinals are played over four games, semifinals over six games, and the grand final follows a best-of-three sets structure — with the first two sets comprising four games each and a potential deciding third set of two games. India's EWC chess campaign now hinges on how far Sarin and Erigaisi can go against a field that includes the world's strongest rapid and blitz players.