A total of seven matches out of 12 were played at the Baku Marriott Hotel Boulevard with five finishing in a win.

Carlsen triumphed over Ukrainian Vasyl Ivanchuk in the open tournament after a challenging fixture that lasted for 43 moves.

Before the tournament, it was unsure whether Ivanchuk would be allowed to leave his country to play.

The 54-year-old was eventually given permission, thanks in part to an open letter signed by players including Carlsen supporting his travel to the World Cup.

Ivanchuk opened with the Catalan but made a mistake in the positional manoeuvring which allowed Carlsen to build momentum.

By move 36, the Ukrainian was in trouble with his opponent holding two extra pawns and posing threats across the board.

Precise play from Carlsen eventually picked off Ivanchuk's pieces before the latter decided to resign after three hours of play.

Leinier Domínguez Pérez of the United States picked up a win against Alexey Sarana of Russia, competing as neutral.

The American emerged from a Sicilian opening and utilised his bishop advantage brilliantly to claim the result.

In the women's tournament, Tan was the first to get a win as she got the better of Georgia's Bella Khotenashvili with the white pieces.

Although fully deserving of her win, the former world champion had two mistakes go unpunished with Khotenashvili losing a sacrifice combination that led to checkmate.

Bulgaria's Nurgyul Salimova pulled off a thrilling win against neutral Polina Shuvalova.

She earned a slight edge from the very start with the Queen's Gambit Declared opening which she held throughout the game.

The two reached an endgame situation with a minor piece and a rook each.

It looked to be heading for a draw but Shuvalova surprisingly gave up an important pawn to leave her opponent able to snatch victory by move 77.