NEW DELHI: The traditional boundaries of Indian sports are expanding rapidly into the digital realm, with the India Rising: Road to EWC, a collaboration between JioBLAST, Chess.com, and the Esports World Cup (EWC) Foundation, emerging as the latest expression of the country’s soaring esports ambitions.Through the India Rising event, India has secured a permanent qualification pathway on the official global Esports World Cup roadmap, with Indian Grandmaster Vidit Gujrathi facing Dutch Grandmaster Benjamin Bok in the summit clash on Saturday for a coveted spot in the 14-player Esports Chess World Cup roster. The choice to use chess as the initial catalyst for this integration is entirely deliberate.Indian chess is currently experiencing an unprecedented golden era, a competitive reality that Grandmaster Vidit believes makes the country the ideal starting point for a major global esports gateway.“India is a powerhouse when it comes to chess. We have won the Olympiad gold medal. We are the current champions. The World Champion is from India, the Women’s World Cup winner is from India, and challenger Vaishali is also from India,” Gujrathi told TimesofIndia.com.“So India is very important in the chess landscape. With the sheer number of players as well, I think India is one of the top places. I feel the competition is much higher here, and it makes a lot of sense that we have our own pathway to the Esports World Cup. As esports is such a global event, it’s very important to have Indian representation there. I think we are among the favourites in the chess world, so it makes sense that we have this event for India.“Charlie Cowdrey, CEO of JioBLAST, reveals that putting India on the global EWC roadmap was born out of a desire to create lasting value rather than a fleeting digital spectacle.“The early conversations weren’t about simply bringing another tournament to India, they were about creating meaningful opportunities for Indian players,” Cowdrey, when asked about their initial approach to creating a separate World Cup qualifier for India, told this website.“Chess felt like the natural place to start because India has one of the strongest chess ecosystems in the world, with incredible talent, a passionate fanbase and a new generation that’s redefining the sport globally.”This strategic roadmap integration arrives at a time when the domestic market has reached what Cowdrey terms a “perfect storm”.India holds the second-largest gaming market by player base, energised by a massive demographic advantage where 65% of the population is under the age of 35. It is a scale that global stakeholders can no longer afford to overlook.Mike McCabe, COO & Deputy CEO of the Esports World Cup Foundation, points out that the international body is formally embedding India into its long-term blueprint because the country is actively driving the industry forward.“India is one of the most important growth markets in global esports. It combines enormous scale, a young and digitally connected population, world-class competitive talent, and a gaming community that continues to expand every year,” McCabe observed. “We see India not simply as a future market, but as a market that is already shaping the future of esports. When you look at the growth of esports as a global sport, it is difficult to imagine it without India playing a major role in it.”However, establishing an entirely new pipeline across multiple global organisations presented distinct behind-the-scenes hurdles.
India Rising: Road to EWC 2026 (Photo from Chess.com)
Cowdrey notes that aligning international partners required meticulous problem-solving to balance competitive integrity with mainstream entertainment.“Whenever you’re building something that’s never been done before, alignment becomes one of the biggest challenges,” Cowdrey admitted. “We were working across multiple global partners, each bringing different expertise but united by the same ambition… Finding the right balance between competitive integrity, accessibility and entertainment required months of collaboration and planning with EWC, BLAST, Jio, Chess.com and more.”The ultimate objective of this roadmap placement was to address a historical structural gap, the lack of a direct path for raw domestic talent to reach the highest international stages.“The countries that succeed over the long term are the ones that build durable structures around players rather than relying on short-term momentum,” McCabe explained. “India Rising creates something that every developing esports ecosystem needs: a credible pathway from grassroots competition to the global stage.”With JioBLAST recently signing an MoU with the Government of Maharashtra to explore long-term digital innovation and youth engagement, the roadmap is clearly built for the long haul.“The ultimate marker of success for India Rising: Road to EWC will be to see Indian players and teams winning on the global Esports World Cup stage in the years to come,” Cowdrey added.READ ALSO: Vidit Gujrathi Exclusive: ‘India is a chess powerhouse but still far from becoming esports hub’On Saturday, a victory over Bok could make Gujrathi the fourth Indian to qualify for the EWC main event after Aravindh Chithambaram, Nihal Sarin, and Arjun Erigaisi, and it would surely be the cherry on top for both Indian chess and esports fans alike.“This is India’s moment,” McCabe concluded. The country already has the talent, the passion, and the scale to become one of the defining forces in global esports.”