David R. Sands
Articles by David R. Sands
Red-hot Wesley So sets the pace in early rounds of U.S. chess title race
So young. So talented. So successful. That pretty much sums up the recent record of the 23-year-old Filipino-born U.S. GM Wesley So, who has been perhaps the world's most successful tournament player of the past year. He's looking to extend that run -- and an unbeaten streak that has now reached nearly 60 games -- at the 2017 U.S. championship tournament at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of St. Louis. Published April 4, 2017
Russian Culture Ministry idles ‘Fast and Furious 8’ in favor of government-backed cosmonaut flick
The Russian Culture Ministry has reportedly tapped the brakes on the release of the latest installment of Hollywood's "The Fast and the Furious" mega-franchise to give a government-backed movie about cosmonauts a clear lane at the box office. Published March 28, 2017
Webster University defines excellence with fifth straight college chess championship
Which is better -- the College Chess Final Four or its pretentious basketball rival? Published March 28, 2017
Walter Shipman, a gentlemanly amateur with a chess pro’s talent
Walter Shipman, one of the last great amateurs from the great postwar generation of American chess, died last month at the age of 87 following a long illness. Published March 24, 2017
U.S. Navy makes first port of call to Myanmar since World War II
A U.S. Navy vessel has made the first official port of call to Myanmar, formerly Burma, in seven decades, U.S. officials said Tuesday. Published March 21, 2017
Crimea gambles on gamblers to ease isolation
What happens in Crimea stays in Crimea, if top officials of the Black Sea peninsula now claimed by Russia has anything to say about it. Published March 21, 2017
Blondes beat brunettes, China bests India in chess rivalries
Insert brunette joke here. It may not settle the argument, but consider it an interesting data point: A team of blondes defeated a team of brunettes in a blitz match last week in Moscow to mark International Women's Day. Published March 15, 2017
Brains at the board: Blondes defeat brunettes in chess grudge match
Insert brunette joke here. It may not settle the argument, but consider it an interesting data point: A team of blondes defeated a team of brunettes in a "friendly" team chess match last week in Moscow to mark International Women's Day. Published March 13, 2017
China: U.S. media biased for Hillary Clinton
It may be unanimous: China has officially declared that the U.S. media were in the tank for Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election. Published March 9, 2017
The ‘other Lasker’ finally punches ticket to U.S. Chess Hall of Fame
He was an easy man to overlook, both because of his diminutive stature and because he happened to share a first initial and last name with one of the greatest chess players to ever play the game. Published March 7, 2017
China’s Tan Zhongyi wins women’s world chess title in Tehran
Continuing a long string of dominance by China's women, WGM Tan Zhongyi defeated Ukrainian GM Anna Muzychuk in the final match to claim the FIDE women's world chess championship knockout tournament in Tehran Friday. The upset win makes Tan the fifth Chinese woman to hold the women's title since GM Xie Jun ended a long period of Russian and Georgian dominance by taking the title in 1991. Published March 3, 2017
High drama leads to comedy of errors in women’s chess title hunt
For chess fans, there is a constant tug-of-war between art and combat. There is real beauty in the flawless conceived plan, the brilliant attack, the airtight winning combination. Then again, a "perfectly played game" by both contestants would produce an unending string of draws. Published February 28, 2017
Hans Berliner, the D.C. boy who conquered the (postal) chess world
Before he conquered the world, he ruled the D.C. chess scene. Postal chess great Hans Berliner, who passed away last month in Florida at the age of 87, grew up here and got his start at the fabled Washington Chess Divan. Published February 22, 2017
In Joop van Oosterom and Raymond Smullyan, chess loses two colorful characters
In a game played between White and Black, chess lost a couple of colorful characters in recent days. Published February 14, 2017
Kevin McCarthy has sick Valentine’s Day burn for colleagues
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy threw a couple of his colleagues under the love bus Tuesday when the chamber's GOP leadership met the press Tuesday morning. Published February 14, 2017
Vladimir Putin reportedly eyeing hardliner as next envoy to Donald Trump’s Washington
For all the talk of their budding bromance, Russian President Vladimir Putin is widely reported to be ready to select a well-known military hardliner as his new ambassador to Donald Trump's Washington. Published February 7, 2017
Hou Yifan, reigning chess queen: Brilliance, then bravado at Gibraltar
GM Hikaru Nakamura has won the Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival -- one of the world's most prestigious open events -- for a third straight year, but the American star's victory last week was hardly the biggest story of the event. Published February 7, 2017
Wesley So pushes unbeaten streak to 56 with Tata Steel chess win
Make room, Byron Nelson. Coming through, UCLA. Scoot over, Joltin' Joe. The list of great sports streaks may have a new entry if rising American superstar GM Wesley So can keep it up. Published January 31, 2017
Julio Sadorra, Mark Paragua sail to victory in the chess Chesapeake Open
There was some real Filipino flavor atop the leaderboard at the ninth annual Chesapeake Open this month at the Rockville Hilton. Published January 25, 2017
Hillary Clinton gets a pass among the Trump faithful
Their hero's motorcade was just pulling up to the other side of the Capitol, but there was a clear surge of anticipation and electricity among Donald Trump's supporters when rival Hillary Clinton first appeared on the giant television screens. Published January 20, 2017
