Twelve mixed gender teams are taking part in the tournament and the opening day saw the first two out of 17 round-robin sessions take place, with action across four sheets.

In the afternoon session Sweden beat Estonia 6-4 on sheet A, with the crucial score coming in the penultimate seventh end, where the Swedes picked up a three.

On sheet B Latvia thrashed the Czech Republic 12-4, scoring four points in both the second and fifth ends on the way to an emphatic victory.

It was a tighter affair on sheet C as Canada edged out Slovakia 7-5, crucially scoring three points in both the fourth and sixth ends.

On sheet D Russia beat Scotland 9-3, with the scoring of three points on end six the key moment for the Russians in securing victory.

In the evening session Norway beat Korea 7-2 on sheet A, while on sheet B it was a tighter affair as Slovakia beat Scotland 7-5, with a score of three points on end four the key moment for the Slovakians.

Sheet C saw China record a convincing 10-6 win over host nation Switzerland, with the Chinese having big scoring ends in the third and sixth, where they managed five and four points respectively.

Sheet D saw the closest game of the day between Latvia and Estonia.

Estonia were ahead 6-1 at the halfway point of the match after four ends.

Latvia reduced the deficit to 6-5 after six ends but after Estonia picked up a point in the penultimate end Latvia knew they needed a score of multiple points to have any chance of success.

They managed this feat, scoring three in the last end to win 8-7 and get ahead on the scoreboard for the first time in the match at the crucial point.

Action continues tomorrow at the Curling Hall in Wetzikon with ten round-robin games taking place across three sessions.