Koneru Humpy began her campaign on a winning note in the FIDE women’s Grand Prix chess tournament at Jermuk (Armenia), outwitting Zhao Xue of China in the opening round on Tuesday.
Humpy, fresh from her joint first place finish in the Kazan Grand Prix last month, is seeded second, behind Hou Yifan.
The reigning world champion from China was held to a draw by Batkhuyag Munguntuul of Mongolia, rated 170 Elo points behind her.
Honours shared
The opening day also saw fourth-seeded Kateryna Lahno of Ukraine sharing the honours with Ruan Lufei of China.
The game between the Armenians, Elina Danielian and Lilit Mkrtchian, was also drawn.
In the battle between two Russians, Ekaterina Kovalevskaya defeated Nadezhda Kosintseva.
