The Grand Chess Tour is comprised of five rapid/blitz tournaments and two classical (Croatia which took place last June and Sinquefield Cup which starts August 15) events. The twelve full tour participants will play in both classical events as well as in three of the five rapid/blitz tournaments.

Udonis Haslem has more than 522,000 followers on Instagram, so it’s but typical for him to see his posts draw significant reaction. Still, his latest contribution to the social media app tops the cake. Hitting Cyberspace yesterday, it featured a photograph of the Larry O’Brien Trophy ensconced in his locker-room stall at the AmericanAirlines Arena along with the caption “Too be continued Heat Nation!!!” and hashtags “#og” and “heatlifer.” Netizens pounced on the announcement; in a span of six hours, it drew a whopping 31,000 likes and nearly four figures in comments practically carrying the same message: “Legend.”

DOWN 0-1 in their best-of-seven Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup finals series, the San Miguel Beermen look to rebound and level the affair with the TNT KaTropa in Game Two today at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

LATER this month undefeated Filipino boxer Mark “Magnifico” Magsayo returns to fight in his hometown of Tagbilaran in Bohol, looking to get his career humming anew following a two-year lull from boxing.

FOR THE SECOND straight play date, men’s basketball action in National Collegiate Athletic Association Season 95 was cancelled because of the expected bad weather brought about by Typhoon Hanna and subsequent suspension of classes in the metro.

LOS ANGELES -- Vince Carter will return to the Atlanta Hawks on a one-year contract for what would an NBA record 22^nd season, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported Monday.

THE NINTH EDITION of NBA 3X Philippines drew to a successful conclusion on Sunday with Cavite-based EGS Elite reclaiming the title in the men’s open division and National University Uno topping the women’s side.

GRANDMASTER (GM) Rogelio “Joey” Antonio Jr. pocketed the top honors in the Open Kitchen rapid chess tournament held at the Open Kitchen food hall 34-36 P. Tuazon Bouelavard, Barangay Kaunlaran, Cubao, Quezon City on Monday.

PHOENIX -- Vince Velasquez pitched seven solid innings in his longest outing of the season, Scott Kingery homered and the Philadelphia Phillies opened a three-game series with a 7-3 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday night in Phoenix.

When ONE Championship came here in April I was not able to cover it as I had something going out of town, which was why for the promotion’s most recent event here on Aug. 2 I made sure if I was available I would go.

It’s official. Vince Carter will be suiting up for his 22^nd and final season in the National Basketball Association. He had, of course, already signified his intent to burn rubber for yet another year and, in the process, break a record he currently shares with just-retired Dirk Nowitzki, Robert Parish, Kevin Garnett, and Kevin Willis for the most number of campaigns played in a career. The Hawks bringing him back for the minimum $2.56 million thereby ensures his place in history. No doubt, they were pleased with the numbers he put up -- norms of 7.4 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 1.1 assists through 17.5 minutes of play -- in 76 games for them, not to mention with his locker-room leadership as they strove to rebuild.

JOINT league leaders College of Saint Benilde Blazers stake their unbeaten record against the streaking Letran Knights with National Collegiate Athletic Association Season 95 action resuming today at the FilOil Flying V Arena in San Juan City.