Gukesh, Firouzja Among Early Winners; Women's Favorites Toppled

World Champion Gukesh Dommaraju was among only 17 of 116 players to win in the first round of the 2025 FIDE Grand Swiss in Samarkand, with other stars getting off to a quick start including GMs Alireza Firouzja, Nodirbek Abdusattorov, and Anish Giri. The Game of the Day came from 20-year-old GM Aydin Suleymanli, who unleashed some brilliant home-cooked analysis to follow up a queen sacrifice against GM Karthikeyan Murali.

It was mayhem in the 2025 FIDE Women's Grand Swiss, with only four higher-rated players winning, while 11 lost, including top seeds GMs Anna Muzychuk and Tan Zhongyi. Anna was close to winning against 18-year-old IM-elect Zsoka Gaal, but completely forgot about her clock and lost on time.

Round two is on Friday, September 5, starting at 6 a.m. ET / 12:00 CEST / 3:30 p.m. IST.