David R. Sands
Articles by David R. Sands
DAVID R. SANDS: So busted — favorite forfeited for note-taking during chess game
Favorites Hikaru Nakamura and Irina Krush lived up to their billing with impressive victories in the 2015 U.S. Open and U.S. Women's Championships. A new generation of American stars made their mark, and a number of impressive games were played. Published April 14, 2015
North Korea aims to be more business friendly — with Putin
One of the world's most hermetically sealed economies is trying to change its image. Published April 14, 2015
Russians say Islamic State infiltrating domestic groups
The jihadi terror group Islamic State has begun "embedding" with Russian domestic terror organizations, including a leading Chechen resistance group, a top Russian intelligence official said Friday. Published April 10, 2015
DAVID R. SANDS: Hikaru Nakamura leads in St. Louis; Mariya Muzychuk wins chess crown in Sochi
The top seeds are in the two top places as GM Hikaru Nakamura at 4-1 leads GM Wesley So by a half-point through Sunday's Round 5 of the U.S. Open Championships, now underway at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of St. Louis. Published April 8, 2015
Jim Yong Kim ignores Obama; World Bank boss welcomes new Chinese bank
Count the American head of the World Bank as one more major player ignoring Obama administration concerns to say he welcomes the creation of a major new China-sponsored development bank to fund infrastructure projects across Asia. Published April 7, 2015
Iranian deal silent on fate of U.S. prisoners held by Tehran
While President Obama and his aides hailed the nuclear deal struck with Iran as a diplomatic coup, the accord was silent on a major bilateral irritant between Washington and Tehran — the fate of three American prisoners being held in Iranian jails. Published April 2, 2015
Efforts to head off China development bank called a failure
U.S. efforts to head off a new China-sponsored development bank for the booming Asia region ended in abject failure this week as organizers announced nearly four dozen countries — including some of America's closest Asian and European allies — have applied to membership, amid growing criticism of how the Obama administration handled the entire episode. Published April 1, 2015
DAVID R. SANDS: UMBC, Virginia Assassins come up short in team chess events
In two big national team events last week, the locals got passed by the express. Published April 1, 2015
U.S. allies rush to join China’s new bank as deadline looms
The rush to join the China's new development bank for Asia has become a stampede, with even longtime U.S. allies such as Georgia, South Korea, Australia and even Taiwan now saying they are ready to join despite the clear reservations of the Obama administration. Published March 30, 2015
Ashraf Ghani, Afghan president: Islam’s leaders must speak out on terror threat
Islam's leaders must be more forceful in condemning jihadi violence, Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani told lawmakers in an address to a joint session of Congress Wednesday. Published March 25, 2015
Australia latest U.S. ally to sign on to new Chinese development bank
Australia Tuesday moved a big step closer to becoming the latest U.S. ally to buck Obama administration concerns and sign on as a founding member of the China-sponsored Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. Published March 24, 2015
DAVID R. SANDS: Busted bracket: U.S. women bounced from chess tournament
If you picked the American women, your bracket is already busted. March madness — the non-trademarked kind — is underway in Sochi, Russia, where FIDE is holding a knockout tournament for 64 of the world's best female players, including three former women's world chess champs. Published March 24, 2015
Obama humiliated as allies join China’s Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank
The battle of wills between Beijing and Washington over a China-sponsored development bank for Asia is turning into a rout, and the Obama administration has found itself isolated and embarrassed as its top allies lined up this week to join the proposed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. Published March 18, 2015
DAVID R. SANDS: Bring me your tired, your poor and your top-rated chess grandmasters
The New York Times last week gave front-page treatment to the under-the-radar machinations now being used to "persuade" top grandmasters to change the flag for which they play. Published March 17, 2015
DAVID R. SANDS: After 26 years at the top, Judit Polgar surpassed by Chinese chess challenger
She hasn't exactly been dethroned, but Hungarian GM Judit Polgar's reign as the ratings queen of women's chess has finally come to an end after an astonishing 26 years of supremacy. Published March 10, 2015
Strong U.S. jobs report raises pressure on Fed to boost rates
The U.S. jobs machine showed no signs of the winter blues as employers added 295,000 jobs in February, exceeding analyst expectations and marking the 12th straight month with gains of 200,000 or more, the Labor Department announced Friday. Published March 6, 2015
DAVID R. SANDS: The joys of kibitzing by computer in chess
They've made some things a bit more complicated — problem-solving contests and correspondence chess, to name two — but superstrong computer programs have not proved the death of competitive chess that some feared. Published March 4, 2015
Pakistan envoy: Iran nuke deal would lower tensions, boost projects
While Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was warning in his Tuesday address to Congress that Iran's neighbors feared the potential nuclear agreement now being negotiated by the Obama administration and its international partners, at least one of those neighbors said it is rooting strongly that a deal can be struck. Published March 3, 2015
DAVID R. SANDS: Virginia Assassins surprise with win at Amateur East chess tourney
It's the biggest, rowdiest team competition in American chess, and an unheralded Virginia team has taken home the blue ribbon. Published February 24, 2015
DAVID R. SANDS: Nakamura rocks Gibraltar, reclaims top U.S. rating slot in chess
Top-ranked U.S. GM Hikaru Nakamura rules the Rock, having just won this year's edition of the strong Tradewise Gibraltar open tournament on the British Mediterranean outpost with an 8½-1½ score. Nakamura, now being challenged by rising GM Wesley So as the top-rated American player, didn't drop a game, defeating ex-world champion Veselin Topalov and Chinese star GM Yu Yangyi along the way. Published February 10, 2015
