Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa kicked off his campaign at the prestigious Candidates Tournament by breaking through the defenses of Dutchman Anish Giri to secure a full point and now shares the lead after the first round with American GM Fabiano Caruana and Uzbekistan's Javokhir Sindarov here. In an eventful first round, World Cup champion Sindarov showcased his excellent tactical skill to turn the tables on Russia's Andrey Esipenko, while pre-event favourite Caruana stunned fellow American Hikaru Nakamura.

The other game of the eight-player double round-robin tournament between Germany's Matthias Bluebaum and China's Wei Yi ended in a stalemate with both players sharing a point. In the women's section being held simultaneously, Indian Grandmaster and Women's World Cup champion Divya Deshmukh drew with Ukraine's Anna Muzychuk, a last-minute replacement for Koneru Humpy, while R. Vaishali survived some anxious moments before sharing the point with Kazakhstan's Bibisara Assaubayeva.