Following the top seed with easy first round wins were Woman Grandmaster Gomes Mary Ann and International Masters Vijayalakshmi Subbaraman and Nisha Mohota.
The tournament as attracted 118 players from 20 states, including 32 FIDE titled players. Played under Swiss System, this event runs for 11 rounds.
Earlier, the tournament was inaugurated by nine time National Champion and Arjuna Awardee Manuel Aaron. Present on the dais were Shri D V Sundar, Vice President, FIDE, Shri B Murugavel, Vice President, Tamil Nadu State Chess Association and Shri V Hariharan, General Secretary, Tamil Nadu State Chess Association.