David R. Sands
Articles by David R. Sands
Pragg nips Gukesh in tournament debut as champ
It seems the only way to beat a superstar Indian teenage chess phenom these days is with another superstar Indian teenage chess phenom. Published February 4, 2025
Kremlin verifies famed Russian figure skating pair were aboard downed U.S. jet
The Kremlin Thursday confirmed that two well-known Russian-born figure skaters were aboard the D.C.-bound plane that collided with an Army helicopter and crashed into the Potomac River Wednesday evening. Published January 30, 2025
Barnes bicentennial: British master ranks as Morphy’s toughest chess foe
He didn't exactly have Paul Morphy's number, but largely unheralded 19th century English master Thomas Barnes -- born 200 years ago this month -- did manage to win more chess games off the brilliant young American than any other player of the day. Published January 28, 2025
Trump doubles down on Greenland buy as Denmark balks
Dismissed as a pipe dream during his first term in office, President Trump's determination to wrest control of Greenland is very much alive at the start of his second term. Published January 26, 2025
Marked man: New champ Gukesh back at the chessboard in strong Tata tournament
It's something of a rite of passage in chess -- the new champ is a marked man when he first returns to the board. Indian teenager Dommaraju Gukesh, who became the youngest world champion ever when he dethroned Chinese GM Deng Liren in their December title match, is testing himself in his first classical tournament since then -- the always-strong Tata Steel Masters Tournament in the storied Dutch seaside town of Wijk aan Zee. Published January 21, 2025
Blinken pushes vision for transformed postwar Middle East as Gaza ceasefire hopes rise
With the Biden administration on its way out the door, Secretary of State Antony Blinken offered on Tuesday an expansive vision of a revamped and revised Middle East, even as negotiators in Qatar were struggling to nail down an elusive ceasefire deal between Israel and Palestinian Hamas militants. Published January 14, 2025
A Huebner appreciation, and exploring the relationship between the board and the bottle
The tributes and appreciations are flowing in for German GM Robert Huebner, the cerebral four-time world championship candidate, Olympiad first-board gold medalist and one of the world's best players on either side of the Cold War divide in the 1970s and 1980s, who -- as we noted here last week -- died Jan. 5 after a long illness at the age of 76. Published January 14, 2025
Kremlin: If Trump wants to talk, Putin is ready to listen
Russian President Vladimir Putin is open to the idea of direct, personal talks with incoming U.S. President Donald Trump, though no talks have been formally scheduled, the Kremlin said Friday. Published January 10, 2025
Familiar traditions survive into the new chess year
It is indeed a new year and a chance for a fresh start, but it's also nice to see that some familiar traditions in chess still endure. Published January 7, 2025
Carlsen’s blue jean blues drown out Murzin’s remarkable rapid chess win
It was a real-life Cinderella story, but the glass slipper got upstaged by a pair of blue jeans. Russian teenage GM Volodar Murzin, seeded 59th in a world-class field, is the new FIDE rapid world champion, in one of the biggest upsets of the year. But as you may have heard, the drama at the board was overshadowed by a ridiculous dress-code spat between FIDE organizers and former world classical and rapid champion GM Magnus Carlsen of Norway. Published December 31, 2024
Chinese President Xi Jinping expresses ‘deep’ condolences at death of Jimmy Carter
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday expressed his personal "deep condolences" over the death of former President Jimmy Carter at the age of 100. Published December 30, 2024
A holiday sampler of the inexhaustible joys of chess
In this season of gift-giving, it's good to reflect on the inexhaustible generosity of the game we love. Yes, the losses can be painful, the pressure intense, and the strain of trying to hold a pawn-down queen-and-knight ending can seem like pure drudgery. But chess also can be rewarding in so many ways. Published December 24, 2024
Gukesh took risks to best a too-cautious chess champ
The shocking blunder that decided a tense world championship match didn't come until Game 14's Move 55, but one got the sense that the defending Chinese champion GM Ding Liren had psychologically surrendered his crown to young Indian challenger GM Gukesh Dommaraju in a small positional skirmish almost 30 moves earlier. Published December 17, 2024
Indian teenage grandmaster Gukesh Dommaraju becomes youngest world chess champion in history
Indian grandmaster Gukesh Dommaraju, 18, has become the youngest world chess champion in the history of the game, dethroning Chinese star grandmaster Ding Liren Thursday in their title match in Singapore. Published December 12, 2024
Gukesh, Ding trade late-match wins, setting up thrilling chess title fight finale
Go ahead -- you can call it a comeback. Chinese world champion Ding Liren showcased his trademark title match resilience, bouncing back from a painful Game 11 loss to Indian challenger GM Gukesh Donnemaju with a powerful win in Monday's Game 12 to knot their FIDE title match in Singapore at 6-6 with just two classical games to go. Published December 10, 2024
Ding sets the tone as world chess title match with Gukesh knotted at 3-3
We're just short of halfway through the 14-game match of the world title match in Singapore, and it's becoming clear that as the champ goes, so will go the match. Published December 3, 2024
Russia, Iran rally to Assad’s aid after shock rebel offensive
Russia and Iran have rushed to the aid of an embattled ally as the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad announced a counteroffensive against rebel groups that have scored stunning advances in the past 48 hours. Published December 1, 2024
U.S. suspends partnership with Georgia as pro-Russia government faces new street protests
The Biden administration has suspended a major cooperation deal with the nation of Georgia after the government in Tbilisi announced it was halting its effort to join the European Union and integrate more closely with the West. Published December 1, 2024
Not so fast: Ding stuns young challenger Gukesh to win opening game of world chess title fight
Chinese world champion Ding Liren put a string of recent shaky performances behind him, stunning Indian challenger Dommaraju Gukesh with the black pieces to take the first game of their scheduled 14-game world title match Monday in Singapore. Published November 26, 2024
Hardaway breaks barrier, becomes the first U.S.-born African American chess GM
Twenty-five years ago, Maurice Ashley, who was born in Jamaica but moved to New York as a boy, became the country's first -- and for a long time its only -- African-American chess grandmaster. He's about to get some company, this time from a proud son of the Bronx. Published November 19, 2024
