UK sends chess player Alex Golding to Esports Nations Cup as well

21 July 2026

The steady emergence of chess as one of the fastest-growing esports disciplines, both for esports in the UK and worldwide, is perhaps one of the more unexpected developments in the industry. Chess is being played at the Esports World Cup 2026 (EWC26) as we speak, and it will also be part of the Esports Nations Cup 2026 (ENC26) later this year. And it is in relation to that the ENC26 that we are writing today, because the UK has just clinched a second spot at the event. It was Alex Golding who managed to clinch the third and final spot during the recent European Qualifiers, allowing him to join compatriot Frederick Walhausen Gordon at the Esports Nations Cup in November.

Final EU Qualifier

Over the weekend of July 4 and 5, the final European Qualifier for the chess event of the Esports Nations Cup took place. The ENC26 will be organized in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) from November 2 to November 8, where the 128 best players in the world will be competing for a share of the massive $ 600.000 prize pool.

The final Qualifier meant there was a chance for a second UK player at the ENC26 chess event, next to the previously mentioned Frederick Walhausen Gordon, who received a direct invitation from the organisation. And it was Guildborn-born player Alex Golding who managed to clinch the spot next to Gordon, though not easily. He went down immediately in his opening round against Noah Fecker from Switzerland before turning the series around (3-2). What followed was a fascinating battle between him and Spanish player Jonas Prado Lobo, which ended in a 3-1 victory for our countryman. As a result of the above, Golding collected three points, which ended up being sufficient for a spot at the chess event of the upcoming Esports Nations Cup.

Chess at ENC26

The Esports Nations Cup 2026 will be the very first edition of the event, meaning that chess will be part of the event from the very beginning. The action will start on November 2 with Stage 1, where a total of 128 players will be divided into sixteen groups of eight. They will face each other in Best-of-2 Single Round Robin format (with 10 minutes without increment as time control) until there are 64 players left. Those 64 players will then compete in a Single Elimination Bracket format in Stage 2 to decide who can call himself the first-ever official Esports Nations Cup chess champion.

ChessFest 2026

The Esport Nations Cup and Alex Golding’s recent achievement are far from the only headlines coming from the chess world, in terms of esports in the UK. On Sunday July 12, for example, London’s Trafalgar Square hosted a recent edition of ChessFest 2026, Britain’s biggest free chess festival, which welcomed more than 25.000 players and visitors.
For those who missed ChessFest in London recently, there is still hope. Chess in Schools and Communities, the charity behind the festival, is organising various ChessFest events this year. At the moment of writing, there are still two events coming up: one in Broadgate (Coventry) on July 25 and the final ChessFest event of 2026 at Market Square in Lancaster on August 17.