Humpy, Vijayalakshmi off to a flier

Grandmaster Koneru Humpy cruised to an easy victory over Tuduetso Sabure of Botswana in the first round of World women's chess championship that got underway in Ekaterinburg, Russia.

The victory in the first game of the two-game mini-match means that Humpy now needs only a draw in the return game to make it to the last 32 in this 64-player event being played on a knockout basis.

The stakes are high with a total prize pool of USD 4,50,000 with USD 60,000 reserved for the winner.

International Master S Vijayalakshmi posted a hard-earned victory over Irina Berezina of Australia but her younger sibling S Meenakshi went down fighting against Tatiana Kosintseva of Russia.

While Vijayalakshmi now appears a strong bet for the next round, Meenakshi faces the threat of elimination as she lost playing white.

There were no major surprises in the first round as defending champion Antoaneta Stefanova also made short work of Amina Mezioud of Algeria.

In a minor flutter, Ukraine's best bet Kateryna Lahno was held to a draw by Peru's Karen Zapata.