Eight rounds into the Candidates tournament, 20-year-old Javokhir Sindarov is unbeaten, leading with a two-point lead. However, Fabiano Caruana and Anish Giri have jumped into a joint second place after their wins in Round 8.
Divya Deshmukh caused a stunning upset by beating former women's world champion Anna Muzychuk, taking down the latter's first loss in the competition. In the Open section, Praggnanandhaa lost to Giri, putting him too far out of the race for first place.
The Women's Candidates seems more open and interesting than earlier, with five players at 4.5 points and no one in the clear lead. Vaishali and Divya are both part of this group.
Earlier in the day, Javokhir Sindarov's preparation on the Lichess platform was leaked, but he downplayed it, terming it 'not a big deal'.
