'I treat it as I am playing from home': Carlsen reflects on unique experience of playing at Esports World Cup

World No.1 Magnus Carlsen enjoyed the first day out at the Esports World Cup 2025 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, competing as chess made its debut at the event on Tuesday. The first day of the inaugural chess tournament at the Esports World Cup 2025 began with the group stage matches. The 34-year-old Carlsen topped Group D after beating Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Jan-Krzysztof Duda as he reached the quarter-finals.

Besides the five-time world champion Carlsen, Levon Aronian (Group A), India’s Arjun Erigaisi (Group B) and Alireza Firouzja (Group C) also qualified for the quarter-finals.

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Four more players will join them after fighting it out in the Losers Brackets playoffs. Ian Nepomniachtchi, Vladislav Artemiev and Andrey Esipenko from Group A; Anish Giri, Nihal Sarin and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave from Group B; Javokhir Sindarov, Wei Yi and Hikaru Nakamura from Group C; and Abdusattorov, Fabiano Caruana and Duda from Group D can still reach the last eight stage.

The unique things about the chess tournament at the Esports World Cup are that players are required to play the matches online, sitting in front of each other. They are required to use noise-cancelling headphones due to the presence of the live audience and the music playing in the arena.

Carlsen speaks on unique Esports World Cup experience

The unique format, where the matches are being played in a 10-minute Rapid format without any time increment, also increases the challenge for the players.

“These games were incredibly complicated and definitely out of control at times. But at the end of the day you only need to play better than your opponent. When it’s complicated then both players are going to make mistakes. I felt for the most part that I was in the driver’s seat,” Carlsen told Take Take Take, talking about the challenge of playing in front of a live audience and amid blaring music from speakers.

“I don’t know if it’s helping my game (having the crowd on the main stage). But it’s nice to have with the set-up: the noise-cancellation, with the music and everything. I sort of treat it as if I am playing from home,” Carlsen added.

The chess tournament at the Esports World Cup 2025 has a total prize pool of $1.5 million, with the winner set to earn $25,000.