The ‘Dragon Chilling’ team, led by Ding Liren, started the World Team Rapid and Blitz Championship on a perfect note, winning all eight games on Day 1.
The team, named after a viral meme featuring Ding Liren sitting motionless on a chair, also features Lei Tingjie and Ni Hua, who came up with the name.
Other top teams, including Team KazChess and Chess United, also performed well, with American GM Hans Niemann being the standout player of the day.
World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen drew against Indian GM Raunak Sadhwani and defeated veteran Vasyl Ivanchuk, while five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand expressed his happiness at being part of the tournament.
Praggnanandhaa, who won the Norway Chess title last week, defeated Iranian-French GM Alireza Firouzja, while defending champions MGD1 are tied at four points with 16 other teams.
