He defeated Serbia’s Grandmaster Velimir Ivic, who made an error on move 21 and could not defend his position, losing by checkmate.

It was one of 76 games played in the first phase of round one of the FIDE Open World Cup on the opening day of competition.

A draw in the second game against the same opponent tomorrow will be sufficient to see Gurel, who currently has the second highest title a chess player can attain as an International Master, through to the second round and a potential encounter with Francisco Vallejo Pons, a Grandmaster from Spain, currently ranked 33.

Play had been formally set in motion in the FIDE Open World Cup with a ceremonial move by Azerbaijan's Youth and Sports Minister Farid Gayibov.

FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich made the first move to launch play in the FIDE Women’s World Cup.

Denis Kadric of Montenegro lost to lower-ranked Pablo Salinas Herrera of Chile in another unexpected result. 

Elsewhere Iran's Pouria Darini defeated Hungary’s Ferenc Berkes. 

Mongolian teenager Ganzorig Amartuvshin also produced something of a shock to beat Spanish grandmaster Eduardo Iturrizaga Bonelli. 

It was also a memorable day for Mongolia in the FIDE Women’s World Cup as Munkhzul Turmunkh stunned Ukraine’s Grandmaster Natalia Buksa, defeating her with a mating combination which trapped the king in the corner of the board.

It means Buksa must win the second game tomorrow (July 31) to force a tie-break.

The Netherlands 17-year-old national champion Eline Roebers, the highest-ranked player in round one, defeated Yamama Asif Abdula Al-Fayyadh of Iraq and looks on course for the next phase.

Thirty-seven other first round matches began, with few real surprises.

The second game in round one takes place tomorrow and any drawn matches will go to a tiebreak on Tuesday (August 1).

The top seeds enter in round two.