Navigating between its crucial military ally and its biggest foreign market, South Korea announced Tuesday it will send a mid-level Cabinet minister and the speaker of its National Assembly to head its delegation to the Winter Olympics in Beijing next month. Published January 25, 2022
Jorden Van Foreest's victory in the 2021 Tata Steel Chess Tournament last January was a feel-good story in a year that could have used a few more of them. Published January 25, 2022
There were no breakthroughs, but the top diplomats from the U.S. and Russia agreed at least to keep talking Friday amid fears that Moscow is preparing an invasion of its neighbor Ukraine. Published January 21, 2022
The State Department announced new sanctions Thursday on four Ukrainian citizens, including two members of the national parliament, accused of cooperating with a Russian intelligence operation designed to destabilize the former Soviet republic. Published January 20, 2022
European allies Thursday joined White House staff in rushing to contradict President Biden's assertions that the West may not respond to a "minor incursion" by Russia into Ukraine and that there were divisions among the NATO allies over how to respond to the Kremlin's aggression. Published January 20, 2022
Hard-line Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has floated a 20-year strategic cooperation agreement with Russia on the first day of a two-day trip to Moscow, Russian news outlets reported Wednesday. Published January 19, 2022
President Biden told a White House press conference Wednesday that Russia would pay a "dear price" if it took military action against neighboring Ukraine, hours after Secretary of State Antony Blinken huddled with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv to kick off a hastily organized European mission to head off a new war in Europe. Published January 19, 2022
We're on a mini-break this week, but thought we'd get a head start on the 50th anniversary celebrations this year to mark the epic 1972 Fischer-Spassky match. Here are excerpts from a couple of previous columns looking at some of the leading players in the drama. Published January 18, 2022
Fears rose Wednesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin is intent on invading Ukraine, as talks between American, NATO and Russian officials failed to produce a commitment from Moscow to draw down its major troop buildup along the border with the developing, U.S.-aligned democracy. Published January 12, 2022
Russian and NATO officials held a "serious and direct exchange" over soaring tensions in Ukraine and eastern Europe, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Wednesday, asserting that the Western military alliance still has deep concerns about the Kremlin's policy but hopes for more talks to ease the crisis. Published January 12, 2022
Jonathan Penrose was the epitome of that generation of fine British chess players who had all the talent in the world but lacked the time, the wherewithal and perhaps the monomaniacal ambition to scale the highest summits of the game. Published January 11, 2022
Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken spoke by telephone with his Kazakh counterpart Thursday, urging a quick end to a week of increasingly violent protests that have rocked the Central Asian nation. Published January 6, 2022
If you start the year with three world titles and end it with just one, can it really be called a successful year? Published January 4, 2022
Secretary of State Antony Blinken and foreign ministers from NATO's 29 other member nations will gather virtually Friday ahead of a string of key diplomatic meetings with Russia aimed at trying to defuse mounting tensions over Ukraine, NATO officials said Tuesday morning. Published January 4, 2022
Former President Donald Trump doesn't just have his sights set on the U.S. midterm elections this fall. Published January 3, 2022
President Biden was back at work trying to prevent a new war in Europe on Sunday, arranging a pep talk with Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Zelenskyy Sunday just days after a tough, nearly hour-long talk with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Published January 2, 2022
The New replacement of the French national flag by the European Union banner at the Arc de Triomphe may have handed a symbolic issue to French conservatives. Published January 2, 2022
Painful as it is to concede, we have to admit that chess makes an uneasy fit with this season of generosity and gift-giving. Published December 30, 2021
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday the U.S. and its allies, not the Kremlin, are to blame for rising tensions in Europe that have revived talk of war. Published December 21, 2021
'Tis the season to be -- a little melancholy, if you want to know the truth. Chess lovers have a lot to be thankful for these days, but there's an undeniable post-world championship match letdown now that Magnus Carlsen has successfully defended his crown -- again. And for a second straight holiday season, the specter of COVID-19 is hanging over the game. Published December 21, 2021
