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Lagarde-Anand after 16. b3.

Keep it short: A late summer bouquet of chess miniatures

By David R. Sands - The Washington Times

A Russian officer who goes by Yevgeny speaks during an interview at his apartment in Astana, Kazakhstan, in late 2023. He had a friend shoot him in the leg so he could get out off the frontline in Ukraine. "Many of my friends have died. And these were really good guys who didn't want to fight," he said. "But there was no way out for them." (AP Photo)

Russian soldiers who quit Putin’s war get no hero’s welcome abroad as asylum claims surge

By Erika Kinetz - Associated Press

Nepomniachtchi-Ding, Playoff Game 4, after 58. Bd4.

Comeback kid Ding Liren is China’s first world chess champ

By David R. Sands - The Washington Times

Ding-Nepomniachtchi, Game 8, after 31. Qc7.

Chess title fight may be decided by a freeze and a bluff

By David R. Sands - The Washington Times

Ding-Nepomniachtchi, Game 6
After 27. f5.

In a break with tradition, chess title fight turns into slugfest

By David R. Sands - The Washington Times

Ding-Nepomniachtchi, Game 2, after 20. Bg5.

Steady Nepomniachtchi, shaky Ding as world chess title match kicks off

By David R. Sands - The Washington Times

Astana, Kazakhstan, lands 2019 wrestling worlds

Associated Press

Illustration on the preservation of good relations with Kazakhstan by Alexander Hunter/The Washington Times

A little pivot to Central Asia

By Clifford D. May

Cologne's Sehrou Guirassy scores the opening goal from the penalty spot past Arsenal goalkeeper David Ospina, right, during the soccer Europa League group H match between FC Cologne and Arsenal in Cologne, Germany, Thursday, Nov. 23, 2017. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

AC Milan advances in Europa League, Arsenal tops group

By The Associated Press - Associated Press

Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan shake hands after a news conference following their talks in Putin's residence in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi, Russia, Wednesday, May 3, 2017. The presidents of Russia and Turkey are holding talks on the situation in Syria and also the restoration of full economic ties between their two countries. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, Pool)

The Latest: Russia-backed Syria deal enters into effect

Associated Press

Mohammed Alloush, center, head of a Syrian opposition delegation, and other members attend talks on Syrian peace in Astana, Kazakhstan, Monday, Jan. 23, 2017. The talks are the latest attempt to forge a political settlement to end a war that has by most estimates killed more than 400,000 people since March 2011 and displaced more than half the country's population. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)

Syria’s motley crew of fighters now at negotiating table

By SARAH EL DEEB - Associated Press

U.N. Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura gestures as he arrives to attend the talks on Syrian peace in Astana, Kazakhstan, Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2017. The face-to-face meeting in Kazakhstan's capital is the latest in a long line of diplomatic initiatives aimed at ending the nearly 6-year-old civil war. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)

The Latest: US welcomes attempt to reduce violence in Syria

Associated Press

In this Thursday, Jan. 19, 2017, photo, youths climb on the rubble of the collapsed minaret at the heavily damaged Great Mosque of Aleppo, in the Old City of Aleppo, Syria. The mosque, also known as the Umayyad Mosque, a centuries-old treasure at the heart of one of the world’s oldest cities, is today a grim monument to the ravages of Syria’s war. The doors have been blasted away, the walls have been shredded by bullets, and the minaret where the Muslim call to prayer sounded for 900 years has been toppled and shattered. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Syria talks focused on cease-fire get underway in Kazakhstan

By Philip Issa - Associated Press

FILE -- In this Feb. 24, 2016 file photo, a Syrian shopkeeper waits for customers next to paintings of of President Bashar Assad, and Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, center, at the Souk Tawil market in Damascus, Syria. Turkey said Thursday, Dec. 29, 2016, that Lebanon's militant Hezbollah group, which has sent thousands of fighters to support President Bashar Assad, should withdraw from Syria. In an interview with Turkey's A Haber news channel, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu also said Turkey and Russia are close to reaching an agreement on a nationwide Syrian cease-fire that would come into effect by the end of the year. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar, File)

The Latest: Cease-fire takes effect in war-ravaged Syria

By The Associated Press - Associated Press

In this Oct. 10, 2016, file photo, Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, left and Russian President Vladimir Putin, shake hands following the group photo at the World Energy Congress, in Istanbul, Turkey. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel, File)

The Latest: Mortar fire on Russian Embassy in Syria

Associated Press

FILE - This is a Friday, Oct. 17, 2014 file photo of Russian President Vladimir Putin and French President Francois Hollande, right, during a meeting on the sidelines of the ASEM summit of European and Asian leaders in Milan, northern Italy. EU sanctions against Russia over the crisis in Ukraine are cutting both ways and pinching some big European companies. But economic relief isn't likely any time soon, diplomats and analysts say: EU rules make the sanctions tough to overturn. France, Germany, Russia and Ukraine are trying to set up talks in Astana, Kazakhstan, toward easing the tensions behind sanctions that have hit Russia's economy, sent the ruble sinking and affected corporate Europe _ including banks, oil companies, machinery makers and food giants. (AP Photo/Daniel Dal Zennaro, Pool, File)

Despite pressure, EU’s sanctions against Russia could last

By Jamey Keaten and Sylvie Corbet - Associated Press