On the evening of Friday, February 1, the pairing of the student round robin tournaments was held. The chief arbiter Victor Goncharov suggested participants of the women’s and men's tournaments to draw out their seeding numbers.

Muscovite Olga Girya and Alexander Shimanov of Saint Petersburg, the rating-favourites, will both have white pieces in the first round, and both grand masters drew the fourth seed. Girya will play against Anastasia Zezyulkina, the two-time champion of Belarus. Shimanov will play against Robert Hovannisyan, the 2011 Armenian champion.

The opening ceremony of the Moscow Open 2013 RSSU International Cup will take place on February 2 at 3:00 pm. The first round starts at 4:00 pm.