Caruana lost to Mamedyarov and now shares 1st-2nd places with Giri (5.5 points).
Results of the 8th round
| GM | Anish Giri | 2782 | ½-½ | GM | Hou Yifan | 2663 |
| GM | Rauf Mammadov | 2655 | ½-½ | GM | Pavel Eljanov | 2750 |
| GM | Teimour Radjabov | 2726 | ½-½ | GM | Pentala Harikrishna | 2763 |
| GM | Eltaj Safarli | 2674 | ½-½ | GM | Sergey Karjakin | 2773 |
| GM | Fabiano Caruana | 2804 | 0-1 | GM | Shakhriyar Mammadyarov | 2748 |
Standings after 8 rounds
Caruana, Giri 5.5
Mamedyarov 5
Karjakin 4.5
Harikrishna 4
Radjabov, Mamedov 3.5
Safarli, Eljanov 3
Hou 2.5
Games of the round
Pairings of the 9th round
| GM | Shakhriyar Mammadyarov | 2748 | – | GM | Anish Giri | 2782 |
| GM | Sergey Karjakin | 2773 | – | GM | Fabiano Caruana | 2804 |
| GM | Pentala Harikrishna | 2763 | – | GM | Eltaj Safarli | 2674 |
| GM | Pavel Eljanov | 2750 | – | GM | Teimour Radjabov | 2726 |
| GM | Hou Yifan | 2663 | – | GM | Rauf Mammadov | 2655 |