Starting off the proceedings five-time world champion Anand used his experience while capitalizing on the advantage of playing with white pieces to get the better of 2021 World Cup winner Jan-Krzysztof Duda.

For the first time ever, chess is employing the practice of flipping to decide the color of the pieces.

The entire team plays with the same colour of pieces, unlike in standard chess events where both teams have an equal number of black and white boards. In the new circumstances, the side playing with white pieces has the initial advantage of the first move which might prove valuable for the outcome.

Anand's early victory gave an important boost to the Ganges team. Four-time world champion China's Yifan was the second to score, defeating another former women's world champion Alexandra Kosteniuk in a thrilling game. Those two victories were the only decisive games of the match as the other four ended in a draw.

"My team started well and that's great. We are in unchartered waters here. This is a new vibe for chess. We all came here curious to see what will happen and how this will play out and so far it is proving to be exciting and promises a lot," said Anand.