China's Tan Zhongyi and Romania's Irina Bulmaga are among the four leaders of the women's event at the King Salman World Rapid Championships in Moscow ©International Chess Federation/Twitter

There is a four-way tie for the lead after eight rounds of the women's event at the King Salman World Rapid Championships in Moscow.

Romania's Irina Bulmaga, China's Tan Zhongyi and Lei Tingjie, and Ukraine's Mariya Muzychuk all sit on 6.5 points at the Russian capital's Central Chess Club.

Bulmaga and Tan had the chance to claim the sole lead when they met in round eight, but the match ended in a draw.

That gave Lei and Muzychuk the opportunity to draw level, and they did so with wins over Georgia's Meri Arabidze and Russia's Natalija Pogonina, respectively.

After 10 rounds of the men's event, reigning world champion Magnus Carlsen has moved into the lead with eight points.

The Norwegian had two draws and three consecutive wins on day two.

Overnight leader Wang Hao of China has dropped to second place with 7.5 points and is joined on that mark by Poland's Jan-Krzysztof Duda and France's Maxime Vachier-Lagrave.

Following the conclusion of the rapid events tomorrow, the blitz events are scheduled to be held on Sunday (December 29) and Monday (December 30).