Chess. Magnus Carlsen wins Esports World Cup tournament

World number one chess player Magnus Carlsen has won the 2026 Esports World Cup in Paris. In the final, he defeated 19-year-old Belarusian grandmaster Denis Lazavik. Carlsen went undefeated in the tournament from the group stage to the playoffs.

Playing for Team Liquid, Carlsen defeated Lazavik in a convincing 3-1 win in both sets.

After his victory at the World Esports Championship, the Norwegian grandmaster said: “I watched Denis’ games and talked to the coaches. I felt that Hikaru’s approach in particular was not right. Interestingly, I had said that his defense in the endgames was not very strong. So I thought that I should have kept the situation better, without making the same mistakes as Hikaru.”

Carlsen also recalled his mistakes in previous matches with Lazavik: “I played Denis many times online. In those games, I took risks and got punished for it. That’s why I didn’t try to give him a clear positional advantage.”

During the tournament, Carlsen defeated Indian grandmaster Nihal Sarin 2.5:0.5 in the quarterfinals and French chess player Alireza Firuzja 4:1 in the semifinals.

When asked if there were times when Carlsen felt he might lose, he replied: "Of course, there were such situations. Several times against Alireza, and against Nihal. There were some dangerous situations, but I am very happy to finish the tournament undefeated. I did not try to do anything unusual. I tried to take advantage of the opportunities, take some risks, and I am happy with that."

For information, Uzbekistan's number two grandmaster Nodirbek Abdusattorov, who participated in this tournament on behalf of the NAVI (Natus Vincere) team, played a match with Denis Lazavik in the quarterfinals. The winner was not determined in the first four games. After that, Lazavik won the Armageddon match and advanced to the next round. The Uzbek chess player received a cash prize of $75,000 for his performance in the tournament.

The chess players competed in the “10+0” rapid format. The prize fund of the tournament was $1.5 million, and the winner received $250,000. Carlsen also won the main prize at the 2025 Esports World Cup.