Have you ever heard of David Paravyan? He was born March 8, 1998 in Russia and earned his grandmaster title in 2017. Before Gibraltar he had not won anything big. The biggest accomplishment so far is his 10^th place finish with 7/11 (won four, drew six, lost one) in the FIDE Grand Swiss Tournament last year. That was a really strong tournament because it gave the winner an automatic slot to the March 2020 Candidates Tournament, and his performance rating there is 2774.

Losing out on Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in free agency was the first real sign the Knicks didn’t have as much pull off the court as they continued to think. There was no question of their lack of competitiveness on it; they headed into the offseason having missed the playoffs for the sixth straight year. Yet, their poor record and all the attendant problems it indicated notwithstanding, they felt they had the juice as first among equals in the National Basketball Association. Until, that is, the windfall that head honcho James Dolan so brazenly alluded to well before their 2018-19 campaign ended failed to materialize. And, amid their backpedaling, they finally admitted they didn’t have any clout, after all.

LOCAL CLUB Kaya FC-Iloilo parades its recalibrated roster when it begins its AFC Cup 2020 campaign in an away match today against Shan United FC in Myanmar.

DALLAS -- Jordan Clarkson scored 25 points and dished out eight assists off the bench to lead the Utah Jazz to a 123-119 victory over the host Dallas Mavericks on Monday night.

CERES-NEGROS FC kicked off its AFC Cup 2020 bid on a high note, beating visiting Preah Khan Reach Svay Rieng FC of Cambodia, 4-0, in their Group G match on Tuesday at the Rizal Memorial Stadium.

AN exciting and competitive volleyball action is in store when competition in Season 82 of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines unfurls beginning on Feb. 15.

THE Philippine women’s badminton team fell to the Thailand squad, 5-0, in its first outing in the preliminary round of the Badminton Asia Team Championships which got under way on Tuesday at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum.

SAO PAULO -- Brazilian soccer great Pele is depressed over his poor health and reluctant to leave the house because he cannot walk unaided, his son Edinho said in an interview published in Brazil on Monday.

MINESKI Global, the pioneer esports company in Southeast Asia, recently signed a landmark contract with the Philippine Collegiate Champions League (PCCL) to create a sustainable, consistent, and widely accessible esports program exclusively for Philippine schools and universities.

When Season 45 of the Philippine Basketball Association unfurls on March 8 the landscape will be different as two of its “towers” are not around. And I mean that literally.

For much of the 2019–20 season, the Raptors have had to prep for matches without a full roster. In this regard, yesterday was the same old, same old for them: While All-Star Kyle Lowry managed to play after missing a game over the weekend in compliance with the league’s concussion protocol, fellow starter Serge Ibaka wound up staying in the sidelines due to flu-like symptoms. Still, their mindset stayed the same as they prepped to host the Timberwolves. They’re the defending champions, and, regardless of circumstance, they have more than enough to win.

THREE-TIME Philippines Football League (PFL) champion Ceres-Negros FC returns to international competition as it opens its AFC Cup 2020 campaign here at home today against visiting Preah Khan Reach Svay Rieng FC of Cambodia.