Team GB sends two Chess players to ENC

Craig Robinson, Senior Editor

Last Updated: 06/07/2026

Over the weekend, the final EUQ qualifier kicked off, with three more slots available to send western European chess players to Riyadh in November. The result saw the UK clinch the last spot in the Lower Bracket qualifier, sending Alex Golding to the ENC.

The event saw players who missed out in the first EUQ qualifier duke it out for the remaining spots. Alex originally lost his opening-round battle against Swiss competitor Noah Fecker before winning the series 3-2. From there, Alex battled Jonas Prado Lobo of Spain, where Alex took the series 3-1. The actual result was two wins and two ties, with the two ties granting each player a point each. This took Alex to three points in the fourth game, qualifying him for the event.

He joins another UK player, Frederick Walhausen Gordon, who is ranked 42nd on the ENC ladder with a 0.994 points rating under the project ranking scoring system via the Champions Chess Tour Circuit Points. This metric invites the top player from 64 nations directly through the event.

As for the rest of the event, there’s still more work to be done. The ENC 2026 battle kicks off from November 2nd to 8th, with all players split into groups. The top four of each group advances into a 64 player second stage, with a single elimination bracket.

It comes with Team GB qualifying for Rainbow Six, Dota 2, Rocket League, Valorant and many other titles. If you’re into chess, there’s also the big ChessFest event later this month at Trafalgar Square that might be worth attending. Similarly, the Esports World Cup which gets underway, will see superstars take the stage such as Magnus Carlsen and the finest minds in chess will compete in one of the many gaming competitions taking place over seven weeks in Paris.

Craig Robinson, Senior Editor

Craig began his career with Esports News UK back in 2015/2016, looking to write about a passion while studying at Manchester Metropolitan University. He stayed there for several years before moving on to other websites to begin his career after graduating. Now he's back, covering esports adjacent topics and UK stories.

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