Overview
- After round eight, both leaders stand on 5.5/8 following draws versus Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Wesley So.
- Wesley So and Levon Aronian trail by half a point, with several others close on 4.0 points.
- World champion D. Gukesh drew Aronian and is out of contention for the title.
- Nodirbek Abdusattorov scored his first win by defeating Alireza Firouzja but remains last on 2.5/8.
- Final-round pairings pit Caruana vs Gukesh, Praggnanandhaa vs Aronian, and So vs Abdusattorov, while Vachier-Lagrave remains well placed to qualify for Sao Paulo.