David R. Sands
Articles by David R. Sands
Chess match still tied as Anand, Carlsen draw Game 4
World chess champion Magnus Carlsen pressed but was unable to break challenger Viswanathan Anand's defenses, as Game 4 of their scheduled 12-game title match ended in a 47-move draw. The result leaves the match knotted at 2-2, and represented a moral victory of sorts for the Indian challenger, who was playing the Black pieces and faced a champion eager for revenge after a bad loss in the previous game. Published November 12, 2014
DAVID R. SANDS: Ominous echoes for Anand as Carlsen takes chess title match lead
Two games into the world title rematch between now-champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway and now-challenger Viswanathan Anand of India is already looking an awful lot like their first match one year ago when the roles were reversed. Published November 11, 2014
Champ Carlsen draws first blood in chess title fight
Using the same blueprint which won him the title a year ago, Norwegian world chess champion Magnus Carlsen pressured challenger Viswanathan Anand of India into a critical mistake to win the second game of their scheduled 12-round match in Sochi, Russia Sunday. Published November 9, 2014
Anand, Carlsen battle to draw in first game of chess title match
World chess champion Magnus Carlsen and challenger Viswanathan Anand battled to a hard-fought draw in the first game of their scheduled 12-game title match in Sochi, Russia Saturday. Published November 8, 2014
SANDS: Challenger faces long odds trying to reclaim chess crown
The world chess championship — it's hard enough to win it, let alone win it back. Published November 4, 2014
SANDS: Ahead of 2014 chess title match, 2016 hopefuls battle it out
With world champion Magnus Carlsen and challenger Viswanathan Anand prepping furiously for their title match in Sochi, Russia, starting a week from Friday, some of their top peers are already battling for a chance to play in the next title match two years from now. Published October 28, 2014
SANDS: The bigger the chess stakes, the bigger the mistakes
More money, more mistakes. By the American game's (low) standards, the Millionaire Chess Open in Las Vegas this month offered a massive jackpot. Published October 21, 2014
Obama’s credit card rejected on New York trip
President Obama came perilously close to having to wash some dishes on his recent trip to New York. Published October 17, 2014
SANDS: From Lasker to Larsen, chess games that link the generations
For such an ancient and venerable game, chess offers some surprisingly direct links to its distant past. Published October 14, 2014
SANDS: Ashburn’s Yu brings home gold in chess World Youth Championships
The DMV has a new world chess champion. Ashburn, Virginia, middle-schooler Jennifer Yu, fresh off a fine performance at last month's Virginia Closed Championship, is the new world girls' under-12 champion, bringing home the gold medal at the World Youth Championships in Durban, South Africa. Published October 7, 2014
SANDS: In a digital age, chess writers still go by the book
There are software programs that can beat the strongest grandmaster in history. Videos of top grandmasters explaining the secrets of their favorite openings are big sellers. The lowliest club player can purchase databases with millions of searchable games dating back to when Ruy Lopez was still in the seminary. Published October 1, 2014
Turkey builds massive pipeline to send drinking water to thirsty Cyprus
An ambitious pipeline project linking reservoirs in Turkey to the parched, isolated Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is on track to bring much needed drinking water to the island by year's end. Published September 30, 2014
Turkey builds innovative pipeline to Northern Cyprus
It won't carry any oil, but an ambitious pipeline project linking reservoirs in Turkey to the parched, isolated Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus could prove as politically charged as any project now underway in the region. Published September 28, 2014
SANDS: Surging Anand could pose problem in chess title rematch
Don't write off the ex-champ so fast. GM Viswanathan Anand is a distinct underdog as he tries to reclaim the world title he lost last year to Norwegian star Magnus Carlsen, with the rematch set for November in Sochi, Russia. Published September 23, 2014
SANDS: Schuyler reclaims chess crown in Virginia title tournament
Congratulations to Virginia FM James Schuyler, who captured his third state title — and third in the past four years — at the traditional Labor Day closed state championship tournament in Glen Allen. Published September 16, 2014
SANDS: Caruana’s Sinquefield chess win ranks as one for the ages
It ranked a tournament performance for the ages, and that was with three rounds still to go. Italian-American GM Fabiano Caruana opened with seven straight wins to blow away the field at the Sinquefield Cup tournament that wrapped up last week in St. Louis. Published September 9, 2014
SANDS: Azarov wins International; China claims Olympiad gold
He came up just short in July's D.C. International in Arlington, but GM Sergei Azarov was not to be denied in this month's third annual Washington International tournament, held across the Potomac in Rockville. The Belarusian star finished alone in first with an undefeated 7-2 score, a full point ahead of a sextet of pursuers: GMs Yaroslav Zherebukh and Ioan Chrila, and IMs Akshat Chandra, Samuel Sevian, Levan Bregadze and Justin Sarkar. Published August 19, 2014
SANDS: Alexander Shabalov again savors Open chess tourney success
Twenty-one years after his first Open title, GM Alexander Shabalov was back in the winner's circle earlier this month, sharing the honors with five other players at the 115th U.S. Open tournament in Orlando, Florida. Inferior tiebreakers kept the Latvian-born Mr. Shabalov from contending for the trophy, won by GM Conrad Holt in a blitz playoff over IM Michael Mulyar, but the result extends a remarkable career in which Mr. Shabalov has won or shared five Open titles to go along with four Closed national championships. Published August 12, 2014
SANDS: American chess teams stumble as Olympiad kicks off
After easy wins in the first two rounds, the U.S. team suffered a painful setback in Round 3 of the 41st biennial Olympiad that got underway late last week in the northern Norwegian city of Tromso. Published August 5, 2014
SANDS: Song soars with dramatic Cadet chess victory
It came down to one game for all the marbles in the final round of the U.S. Cadet Championship in Rockville, Maryland, last week, with co-leaders Edward Song of Michigan and Kapil Chandran of Connecticut paired against each other. Published July 29, 2014
