International No. 1 Grandmaster (GM) Magnus Carlsen has added but some other accolade to his storied profession, this time in a completely new enviornment. The five-time international champion clinched the inaugural Esports Chess International Cup identify, representing Crew Liquid in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Carlsen, 34, pocketed $250,000 in prize cash and described the enjoy as “an absolute thrill and pleasure from begin to end.”Taking to social media platform X (previously Twitter), Carlsen declared, “New flooring conquered, it’s been an absolute thrill and pleasure from begin to end,” signalling the rising fusion of conventional board video games with trendy aggressive esports.Cross Past The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!The Esports International Cup (EWC), some of the greatest multi-game tournaments globally, featured chess for the primary time this yr, along titles like Name of Responsibility, League of Legends, and Side road Fighter. Whilst the verdict to incorporate chess in an esports atmosphere to begin with sparked debate, organisers defended it by way of highlighting chess’s huge international virtual footprint.Carlsen’s trail to the identify wasn’t with out pageant. A number of elite grandmasters participated, and the structure, involving workforce phases and playoffs, introduced a recent twist to the vintage sport. Within the ultimate, Carlsen overcame international quantity 8 Alireza Firouzja, as soon as once more demonstrating his dominance even out of doors conventional match codecs.Competition performed live to tell the tale level, seated at computer systems, dressed in heart-rate screens, and surrounded by way of lovers, sponsors, and observation, a stark distinction to the quiet halls of classical chess tournaments.Carlsen, who has lengthy championed modernising the game, welcomed the enjoy: “It’s been an ideal display, in contrast to anything else I’ve observed up to now… I’m hoping this can be a large a part of the way forward for chess.”