Chinese phenom GM Yu Yangyi (2715) defeated Cuban GM Leinier Dominguez (2746), this time with the white pieces , to increase his lead by 1.5 points.
Russian GM Ian Nepomniachtchi (2720) meanwhile beat the bottom seed GM Lazaro Batista (2677) of Cuba to bring some cheer after his lackluster start.
Standings after Round 8:
| Rank | Name | Score | Elo |
| 1 | Yu, Yangyi | 6.0/8 | 2715 |
| 2 | Eljanov, Pavel | 4.5/8 | 2718 |
| 3 | Andreikin, Dmitry | 4.5/8 | 2718 |
| 4 | Nepomniachtchi, Ian | 3.0/8 | 2720 |
| 5 | Dominguez Perez, Leinier | 3.0/8 | 2746 |
| 6 | Bruzon Batista, Lazaro | 3.0/8 | 2677 |