Armenian grandmaster Levon Aronian is enjoying a successful season in the final leg of the FIDE Grand Prix in Palma de Mallorca, Spain.

He was close to winning against Richard Rapport with Black on Thursday, November 23 but the Hungarian grandmaster pulled himself together and brought the position to a draw.

After seven rounds, Aronian is still in the lead with 4.5 points.

The FIDE Grand Prix 2017 is a series of four chess tournaments that form part of the qualification cycle for the World Chess Championship 2018. The top two finishers will qualify for the 2018 Candidates Tournament.

Aronian who won the World Chess Cup in September, as well as Liren, who reached the finals, have already qualified for the Candidates Tournament.