Russian-born Aleksandra Maltsevskaya, who now competes for Poland, had been scheduled to play in the FIDE Women's World Cup against Mona Khaled, the first Egyptian woman to become a Grandmaster.

Khaled received a walkover and takes her place in the second round.

Khaled's opponent will be the winner of the match between Eline Roebers of the Netherlands and Yamama Asif Abdula Al-Fayyadh of Iraq, a contest Roebers currently leads 1-0,

In the men's tournament, there is a bye for top ranked Sri Lankan LMST De Silva.

He goes through because his scheduled first round opponent Eric Hansen of Canada scratched from the tournament.

De Silva is now set to face Poland’s Radoslav Wojtaszek in round two.

Hansen wrote on Twitter that he had even travelled to the airport in Canada but was unable to fly to Azerbaijan's capital because his visa did not arrive in time. 

The decision of 16-year-old American prodigy Christopher Yoo not to travel means that China’s 18 year old Huang Renjie is given a walkover.

In round two, Huang is scheduled to meet Serbia’s Alexey Sarana, winner of the Olympic Esports Week Chess in Singapore.

FIDE World Cup regulations for "confirmation of participation" stipulate that, "A player who fails to provide a satisfactory reason for withdrawal, after he/she has signed the player's contract, may be sanctioned."

A FIDE spokesperson confirmed to insidethegames that "in all three cases players notified us in advance and informed about their reasons in one case illness, so no penalties in all three cases."

Play in round one is due to continue here today. 

Tomorrow has been set aside for any necessary tiebreaks.

World number one Magnus Carlsen of Norway and 2021 World Cup winner Jan-Krzysztof Duda are scheduled make their entrance to the tournament on Wednesday (August 2).

The 2023 women’s world champion Ju Wenjun and reigning Women’s World Cup holder Alexandra Kosteniuk, born in Russia but now competing for Switzerland, are also due begin their challenge at the same time.