Overview
- After seven rounds, R Praggnanandhaa and Fabiano Caruana lead on 4.5/7, with Levon Aronian and Wesley So trailing on 4/7 and Sam Sevian, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, and Jan‑Krzysztof Duda at 3.5.
- Praggnanandhaa defeated Alireza Firouzja with Black in a Rossolimo Sicilian to pull level at the top.
- Wesley So scored his first win by beating world champion D Gukesh in a Berlin, moving within half a point of the leaders.
- Jan‑Krzysztof Duda beat Nodirbek Abdusattorov, while Caruana drew Aronian and Vachier‑Lagrave split the point with Sevian.
- Round 8 brings Praggnanandhaa–So and Vachier‑Lagrave–Caruana as GCT Finals qualification scenarios remain open.