 The world's top four players, Magnus Carlsen, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Fabiano Caruana and Vladimir Kramnik, all did not play in the opening round.Norway showed signs of frailty after conceding two draws against Wales to win 3–1, while Serbia beat Trinidad and Tobago by the same margin following GM Nikola Sedlak's upset loss to Kevin Cupid.The biggest surprise of the first round, however, was Bulgaria's draw against Sudan.