Nalchik To Host Fourth Grand Prix
Despite rule changes, player withdrawals and last-minute venue swaps, FIDE's series of Grand Prix qualifying tournaments continues next month.
Nalchik, Russia has taken over as host of the fourth Grand Prix event which was originally slated for Montreux in Switzerland. The event will take place from 14-29 April and against the odds manages to feature the strongest line-up yet.
| Name | Country | Elo |
| Levon Aronian | Armenia | 2754 |
| Peter Leko | Hungary | 2751 |
| Alexander Grischuk | Russia | 2748 |
| Vassily Ivanchuk | Ukraine | 2746 |
| Boris Gelfand | Israel | 2733 |
| Etienne Bacrot | France | 2728 |
| Peter Svidler | Russia | 2726 |
| Shakhriyar Mamedyarov | Azerbaijan | 2725 |
| Sergey Karjakin | Ukraine | 2721 |
| Gata Kamsky | USA | 2720 |
| Evgeny Alekseev | Russia | 2716 |
| Vladimir Akopian | Armenia | 2696 |
| Rustam Kasimdzhanov | Uzbekistan | 2695 |
| Pavel Eljanov | Ukraine | 2693 |
The current standings are shown below.
| Player | Baku | Sochi | Elista | Total | Played |
| Teimour Radjabov (AZE) | 60.00 | 150.00 | 153.33 | 363.33 | 3 |
| Wang Yue (CHN) | 153.33 | 120.00 | 80.00 | 353.33 | 3 |
| Vugar Gashimov (AZE) | 153.33 | 65.00 | 110.00 | 328.33 | 3 |
| Alexander Grischuk (RUS) | 105.00 | 45.00 | 153.33 | 303.33 | 3 |
| Dmitry Jakovenko (RUS) | 90.00 | 153.33 | 243.33 | 2 | |
| Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (AZE) | 105.00 | 80.00 | 185.00 | 2 | |
| Levon Aronian (ARM) | 180.00 | 180.00 | 1 | ||
| Gata Kamsky (USA) | 60.00 | 120.00 | 180.00 | 2 | |
| Peter Svidler (RUS) | 85.00 | 90.00 | 175.00 | 2 | |
| Sergey Karjakin (UKR) | 60.00 | 90.00 | 150.00 | 2 | |
| Ivan Cheparinov (BUL) | 35.00 | 45.00 | 50.00 | 130.00 | 3 |
| Etienne Bacrot (FRA) | 15.00 | 80.00 | 95.00 | 2 | |
| Peter Leko (HUN) | 80.00 | 80.00 | 1 | ||
| Rustam Kasimdzhanov (UZB) | 80.00 | 80.00 | 1 | ||
| Vassily Ivanchuk (UKR) | 65.00 | 65.00 | 1 | ||
| David Navara (CZE) | 35.00 | 15.00 | 50.00 | 2 | |
| Pavel Eljanov (UKR) | 35.00 | 35.00 | 1 | ||
| Evgeny Alekseev (RUS) | 35.00 | 35.00 | 1 | ||
| Boris Gelfand (ISR) | 30.00 | 30.00 | 1 | ||
| Ernesto Inarkiev (RUS) | 15.00 | 15.00 | 30.00 | 2 | |
| Vladimir Akopian (ARM) | 15.00 | 15.00 | 1 |
Ultimately, the Grand Prix forms part of the qualifying cycle to find a challenger for the winner of the next World Championship match between the current champion Vishy Anand and his challenger Veselin Topalov. As the rules currently stand, the top 2 players from the Grand Prix will take part in a qualifying competition (either a tournament or a series of matches) along with the loser of the Anand-Topalov match, the winner this year's World Cup, Gata Kamsky (who lost to Topalov), the two highest ranked players who haven't otherwise qualified, and a wildcard chosen by the organiser (whoever that turns out to be).
Clear? Good! 
Actually, it still isn't clear which rating list will be used to select the highest rated qualifiers, or whether there will be any kind of restriction on who gets the wildcard entry (a minimum ranking perhaps?) Watch this space, but don't hold your breath. The Anand-Topalov match has been delayed until at least April 2010.
The total prize fund in Nalchik is €162,000 and the time control will be 120 minutes for the first 40 moves, 60 minutes for the next 20 moves, and then 15 minutes extra plus an increment of 30 seconds per move for the rest of the game.
The official website of the Nalchik GP is here, and the website for the Grand Prix competition as a whole (including the Women's Grand Prix) is here.
