The First Round of the 2021 FIDE Chess.com Grand Swiss started today with FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich making the first move on Board one, in the game between top-seed Fabiano Caruana and Maksim Chigaev of Russia. Caruana opted for 1.e4 as the first move.
The beginning of the round was preceded by a minute of silence to mark the passing of the famous Latvian coach and former director of the Riga Chess School Aivars Stašāns (1954 – 2021).
Altogether 157 players are taking part: 108 from 37 federations will be competing in the Open section, and 49 players from 23 countries in the women’s section.
The 11-round swiss event takes place in Riga, Latvia, and will last until November 7.
