The Russian women were continually pegged back by a determined Swiss outfit, the current world champions, and the scores were level at 8-8 going into the 10th and final end.

New skip Victoria Moiseeva held her nerve when it mattered, scoring the point which ensured their campaign got off to a winning start.

"It was actually our first game at the European Championship ever, so that really feels great to win this one," Moiseeva said.

"It was really really close so just some stones, some shots they made the difference.

"The first thing we are thinking about is play-offs and then we'll see how we will go."

Hosts Scotland, led by Olympic bronze medallist Eve Muirhead, were also among the winners on day one as they overcame Italy 6-5.

A three-point fourth end proved crucial for Scotland, although Italian skip Federica Apollonio had a chance to send the match to an extra end but her effort was too heavy, granting the home side a tight win.

Denmark earned a comprehensive success over Finland, emerging with an 8-2 victory, while the Czech Republic beat Germany by the same scoreline.

In the other women’s match to take place today, Sweden swept aside Norway 9-5.

Defending men’s champions Sweden, also the Olympic bronze medallists from Sochi 2014, won their first fixture as they ousted Germany 9-4.

The Scottish men were unable to follow the men as they lost 8-3 to Denmark, while Norway thrashed Finland 10-3.

Switzerland and Russia also triumphed, beating Austria 6-4 and Italy 7-3 respectively.