Levon Aronian is quickly becoming the best player in the FIDE Grand Prix with yet another Championships under his belt. Having been crowned champion at the Sochi Grand Prix event last year, Aronian earned another top finish in Nalchik by defeating Peter Leko in the final round.

Entering the final round, Aronian and Leko were tied in points and the Armenian GrandMaster needed the victory for a lone spot in the Champion's circle. With the top finish at Nalchik, Aronian has found himself head and shoulders above the competitors in both tournaments that he has been involved in. In the other two grand prix tournaments in Baku and Elista (which Aronian had not participated in,) the top spots were shared by three competitors in each case.

Vladimir Akopian, the other Armenian competitor in the tournament had a successful run and ended in 2nd place with a victory in the 13th round. Akopian now has a combined 155 points in the Grand Prix.

The FIDE Grand Prix is a series of six international chess tournaments, each competitor electing to participate in exactly four of the six tournaments with points being allocated to participants according to the final rankings of each tournament. The first place winner earns 180 points, the second place 150, the third place 130 and so forth. In case of ties, the points are divided among the competitors. For example, if two competitors are tied for third/fourth place, they will split the points, 120 each (130 for third place, 110 for fourth place.)

Having won the Sochi and Nalchik tournaments, Aronian has accumulated 360 points in two tournaments, sitting near the top of standings with competitors who have participated in three and four tournaments. See the table below for more accurate standings.

2008-2009 FIDE CHESS GRAND PRIX STANDINGS
BAKU 08	SOCHI 08	ELISTA08	NALCHIK 09	TOURNEYS	TOTAL
Alexander Grischuk RUS		105	45	153.33	105	4	408.33
Teimour Radjabov AZE		60	150	153.33	3	363.33
Levon Aronian ARM		180	180	2	360
Wang Yue CHN		153.33	120	80	3	353.33
Vugar Gashimov AZE		153.33	65	110	3	328.33
Dmitry Jakovenko RUS		90	153.33	2	243.33
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov AZE		105	80	55	3	240
Gata Kamsky USA		60	120	55	3	235
Peter Svidler RUS		85	90	55	3	230
Peter Leko HUN		80	140	2	220
Sergey Karjakin UKR		60	90	55	3	205
Etienne Bacrot FRA		15	80	105	3	200
Vladimir Akopian ARM		15	140	2	155
Ivan Cheparinov BUL		35	45	50	3	130
Evgeny Alekseev RUS		35	85	2	120
Boris Gelfand ISR		30	85	2	115
Rustam Kasmidzhanov UZB		80	20	2	100
Vassily Ivanchuk UKR		65	20	2	85
Pavel Elijanov UKR		35	20	2	55
David Navara CZE		35	15	2	50
Ernesto Inarkiev RUS		15	15	2	30
Magnus Carlsen NOR		153.33	1	OUT
Michael Adams ENG		85	1	OUT
Mohamad al-Modiahki QAT		15	1	OUT
Yannick Pelletier SUI		OUT