David R. Sands
Articles by David R. Sands
Iran hard-liners reject middle path, disqualify moderate candidates
For the second time in less than a week, Iran's theocratic leaders have disqualified a slew of moderate candidates from the race for a key governing body, ruling that even the grandson of Iranian revolutionary hero Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini was too ideologically suspect to run for office. Published January 26, 2016
DAVID R. SANDS: Magnus Carlsen takes risks to rise to chess top at Wijk
The champ isn't resting on his laurels. Unlike some of his illustrious predecessors, world titleholder Magnus Carlsen isn't afraid to mix it up with his rivals, maintaining an active tournament schedule -- and risking the occasional embarrassing loss -- since he first won the crown in November 2013. Published January 26, 2016
DAVID R. SANDS: Promising Russian chess star Ivan Bukavshin dies of stroke at 20
A.E. Housman's sad lines accompany the sad news out of Russia that talented young GM Ivan Bukavshin has died suddenly of a stroke, still four months shy of his 21st victory. Published January 19, 2016
Iran welcomes business rush as sanctions are lifted
Literally hours after the ink had dried on the accord lifting international economic sanctions on Iran, big-name companies across Europe and Asia were signing deals, major world leaders were booking trade missions to Tehran, idled oil fields were being ordered back online, and Iran's financial authorities had processed applications for some 1,000 letters of credit from businesses hoping to cut deals in the near future. Published January 18, 2016
DAVID R. SANDS: Lasting legacy of Paul Keres, the ‘crown prince of chess’
One hundred years after his birth, he still ranks near the top of any list of the greatest players never to have won the world championship. Published January 13, 2016
DAVID R. SANDS: His alma mater suffers, but Sergey Erenburg soars at chess Eastern Open
Virginia GM Sergey Erenburg had a good send-off to 2015, but the same couldn't be said for his alma mater, the University of Maryland-Baltimore County. Published January 5, 2016
Market chaos in China produces New Year’s hangover on Wall Street
A sharp drop in stocks in China sent financial markets reeling around the world, with Wall Street just avoiding posting its biggest loss on the first trading day of a new year since the Great Depression. Published January 4, 2016
DAVID R. SANDS: Northern Va. stalwart Harold Mouzon dies at 85
Washington chess lost a stalwart earlier this month with the passing of NM Harold Mouzon Jr. of natural causes at the age of 86. Published December 29, 2015
DAVID R. SANDS: Big Applesauce: Manhattan wins first chess league crown
From its earliest days of American chess, New York City -- and, in particular, the island of Manhattan -- has been the center of gravity for American chess. Published December 22, 2015
Federal Reserve boosts lending rates for first time under Obama
After one of the longest, most telegraphed windups in monetary policy history, the Federal Reserve on Wednesday delivered a small brushback pitch to the American economy, raising its key lending rate by a quarter of a percentage point for the first time since 2006. Published December 16, 2015
Feeble ruble boosts Russia tourism numbers
The plunging value of the ruble has had one positive effect for the recession-wracked Russian economy -- bargain-hunting international tourists are coming to Russia in numbers not seen since the onset of the global financial crisis in 2008. Published December 16, 2015
Donald Trump loses battle to block wind farm near golf course in Scotland
He held his own in Tuesday's Republican debate but GOP front-runner Donald Trump was the clear loser after Britain's top court ruled Wednesday an 11-turbine wind farm can be built near his pricey luxury golf course on the coast of Scotland. Published December 16, 2015
DAVID R. SANDS: With victory in London, Magnus Carlsen wins chess Grand Tour
World champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway has won the last major event of the year, taking the 7th annual London Chess Classic, the third and final leg of the FIDE Grand Tour events, in a two-game rapid playoff over French GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. The playoff came after Carlsen, Vachier-Lagrave and Dutch GM Anish Giri finished in a three-way tie for first at 5-3. Published December 15, 2015
DAVID R. SANDS: Things slow to heat up as top chess GMs battle in London
Like boxers feeling each other out in the early stages of the fight, the world's top grandmasters were not exactly mixing it up in the first rounds of the 7th London Classic, now approaching the midpoint in the British capital. Published December 9, 2015
Venezuela vote may doom lucrative Russian arms deals
Russian defense officials fear that Venezuela's parliamentary elections Sunday, which resulted in an overwhelming win for the opposition, may be costing them one of their best customers. Published December 9, 2015
U.S. church collecting supplies for Ukrainian fighters
A Washington-area Ukrainian Catholic Church will be setting up an unusual table at its annual Christmas bazaar this weekend -- a collection point for supplies for Ukrainian troops battling Russian-backed separatists in the old country. Published December 8, 2015
Markets surge on jobs report, dismiss rate hike fears
Wall Street seized on another strong U.S. jobs report and appeared to shrug off mounting expectations of an imminent interest rate hike from the Federal Reserve, with the Dow Jones index rising 396.96 point, or 2.12 percent, to 17,847.63, for one of its best trading days in three months. Published December 4, 2015
FBI officially investigating San Bernardino shootings as ‘act of terrorism’
The shooting spree by a Muslim couple that killed 14 and seriously wounded 21 Wednesday in San Bernardino, Calif. is officially being investigated as an act of terrorism, the lead FBI investigator in the case said Friday. Published December 4, 2015
New China bank sets ambitious early goals
Having managed to organize and fund itself despite a cool reception from the Obama administration, China's new Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank is setting some ambitious goals as it prepares for its formal opening later this month. Published December 2, 2015
DAVID R. SANDS: Hollywood sparks an unlikely Boris Spassky chess boom
The surprisingly sympathetic portrait in the recent Bobby Fischer biopic "Pawn Sacrifice" has sparked renewed appreciation for the man swept aside by the American dynamo -- star-crossed Russian great Boris Spassky. Published December 1, 2015