Fancied players off to winning start

Seeded players opened with victories in the first round of St Peter's International School 1st All India Open FIDE Rated chess tournament in Kodaikanal today.
Top-seed N Lokesh (ELO rating 2211) opened with a facile win over M Amisha Sany while International Master R Balasubramaniam and GM norm-holder Ram S Krishnan defeated M D Varnika Sree and B Kavin respectively.
A press note said a total of 248 players are taking part in the eight-round tournament which carries a prize money of Rs.3.10 lakh.
Important results - Round 1: N Lokesh bt Amisha Sany, B Emmanuel Austin lost to Syed Anwar Shazuli, Ram S Krishnan bt B Kavin, N R Jaidambareesh lost to M V Lakshmi Narayanan, R Balasubramaniam bt M D Varnika Sree.

M Ramakrishnan lost to P Phoobalan, Swaraj Palit bt C Swethitha, Sabarish Parthiban lost to M Vijay Anand, C Sivakumar bt S Vismitha, B Leaha lost to Y Saranya.