Overview

• Both leaders moved to 5.5/7 after Nihal Sarin beat Parham Maghsoodloo and Matthias Bluebaum upset Arjun Erigaisi.
• Seven players, including Alireza Firouzja, Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Hans Niemann, Vidit Gujrathi and Abhimanyu Mishra, sit half a point back on 5/7.
• World champion D Gukesh lost again, falling to 16-year-old Ediz Gurel in round seven to remain on 3/7 and needing a near-flawless finish to re-enter contention.
• Round eight headlines include Bluebaum vs Nihal on the top board, with Gukesh set to face Women’s World Cup winner Divya Deshmukh in their first classical meeting.
• In the Women’s Grand Swiss, defending champion Vaishali Rameshbabu leads on 6/7 after defeating Guo Qi, with Kateryna Lagno alone in second on 5.5/7.