The first day of the Play for Russia charity event left chess fans spoilt for choice, with firework matches like Grischuk v Riazantsev, to classic match ups like Kramnik v Svidler.
English commentary for the entire day's play was provided from Lichess' official channels on YouTube and Twitch, by WIM Fiona Steil-Antoni, and GM Evgenij Miroschnichenko. They will be commentating each day from the Lichess channels - starting from 12 UTC.
Grischuk, three times the World Blitz Champion, was undefeated on day 1, with wins against Riazantsev, Svidler, Karjakin and Kramnik - and draws against the rest of the field. Such a commanding performance gave Grischuk the lead on the first day, with 5.5 / 7.
