In September 2017, Aronian won the World Cup, and in doing so qualified for the Candidates Tournament for the 2018 World Chess Championship. In November 2017, Aronian won the gold medal for individual performance in the European Team Chess Championship. In the same month, he tied for first with Dmitry Jakovenko in the FIDE Grand Prix in Palma de Mallorca. In December 2017, Aronian took fifth place in the World Blitz Chess Championship in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with a score of 14/21 including wins over Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and defending champion Sergey Karjakin.In January 2018, Aronian won the 16th Annual Gibraltar Chess Festival on tiebreaks, beating runner-up Maxime Vachier-Lagrave 2½–1½, with an overall record of 7½/10. From 31 March to 9 April 2018, Aronian competed in the 5th Grenke Chess Classic. He finished fifth with a score of 5/9. From 28 May to 7 June, he competed in the sixth edition of Norway Chess, placing sixth with 4/8 points.