Caruana retains his GRENKE Classic lead going into Monday's final round - 8

All the games were drawn in the 8th round of the GRENKE Classic and there were few if any missed chances in these games.

The longest game of the day was between the two players tied for second, Magnus Carlsen and Nikita Vitiugov. Carlsen tried a Giuoco Piano but didn't really get any advantage, Carlsen tried for a very long time right into the endgame, posed some problems, but the objective assessment was level througout. Vitiugov was impressive in not really giving anything away at any point. Vitiugov now faces the leader Fabiano Caruana in the final round with white while Carlsen will play Viswanathan Anand with black.

Round 8 results Sunday 8th April 2pm: Carlsen draw Vitiugov, Caruana draw Aronian, Bluebaum draw MVL, Meier draw Hou Yifan, Naiditsch draw Anand.

Round 8 standings: 1st Caruana 5.5pts, 2nd= Carlsen, Vitiugov 5pts 4th= Vachier-Lagrave, Aronian 4.5pts 6th Bluebaum 4pts, 7th= Hou Yifan, Anand, Naiditsch 3pts, 10th Meier 2.5pts.

Round 9 2pm BST Monday 9th April Anand-Carlsen, Hou Yifan-Naiditsch, Vachier-Lagrave-Meier, Aronian-Bluebaum, Vitiugov-Caruana.