Legal Chess Win: Ukraine Takes Russia

In an article examining Ukraine’s recent victory over Russia at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), Law Society Gazette highlights the role of Covington, which represented the Ukrainian Chess Federation in the proceedings challenging Russia’s regulation of chess activities in occupied Ukrainian territory.

The article quotes Dave Pinsky, who underscores the broader significance of the decision beyond the game itself. Dave said the case goes directly to Ukraine’s “sovereignty,” explaining that it affirms respect for the country’s internationally recognized boundaries, including Crimea. He noted that the CAS ruling represents both a practical and symbolic victory, with potentially “wide ranging precedential effect,” standing for the proposition that “no Russian sporting federation — whether chess, track and field, soccer, basketball, [or] hockey — can organize official events or regulate their sports more broadly in purportedly annexed regions of Ukraine.”

The Covington team is led by Dave Pinsky and includes Paris Aboro and Alex Gudko.