David R. Sands
Articles by David R. Sands
Nakamura rocked by early loss as Candidates battle in Toronto
American GM Hikaru Nakamura picked a bad time to play a bad game. Nakamura came into the Candidates riding a 47-game unbeaten streak at classical time controls. But after an exciting Round 1 draw with Caruana, he saw that streak come crashing to a halt in Round 2 against GM Santosh Vidit, one of three Indian GMs making their debut in this Candidates cycle. Published April 9, 2024
Iran says Israeli embassies could be targeted after Syria consulate attack
Iran stepped up its threats to avenge a suspected Israeli airstrike last week that killed a number of senior commanders, warning Sunday that Israeli diplomatic posts around the world are now "legitimate" targets for a retaliatory attack. Published April 7, 2024
Biden tells Netanyahu humanitarian situation in Gaza ‘unacceptable’
President Biden delivered a blunt message Thursday to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: America's patience with its ally's campaign against Hamas terrorists in Gaza is not infinite. Published April 4, 2024
Candidates you can get excited about this election year
There are multiple intriguing storylines to pursue as the FIDE Candidates and Women's Candidates tournaments start their clocks this week in Toronto -- the first time the events staged to pick the next challenger for the open and women's world titles will be held in North America. Published April 2, 2024
Singapore sends team to help probe Baltimore bridge disaster; crew dropped anchor just before impact
Singapore maritime officials have dispatched investigators to Baltimore to assist in the probe of a Singapore-flagged cargo ship that lost power and crashed into the port's Francis Scott Key Bridge early Tuesday, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore said in a statement. Published March 26, 2024
Lisa Lane, trailblazer for U.S. women’s chess and Sports Illustrated cover girl, dies at 90
Her career was as impressive as it was improbable. Lisa Lane, who passed away Feb. 28 at the age of 90, was a fierce competitor at the chessboard, a two-time U.S. women's champion in 1959 and 1966 and a media sensation in an age when her sex, her drive to succeed and even her attractiveness sometimes seemed to work against her in a way that never burdened her male rivals. Published March 26, 2024
Netanyahu recalls delegation to Washington after U.S. lets U.N. cease-fire measure pass
The rift between Israel and the United States widened dramatically Monday as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called off a trip by a top-level delegation to Washington to protest the U.S. failure to block a new U.N. Security Resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire in the war. Published March 25, 2024
OK, it’s a ‘war’: Russia upgrades ‘special military operation’ in Ukraine
The Kremlin is conceding for the first time that its invasion of Ukraine launched more than two years ago and which has generated hundreds of thousands of casualties on both sides is, in fact, a "war." Published March 22, 2024
A divided world makes for a divided chess landscape
The good news: The Aeroflot Open, long one of the world's best and strongest annual Swiss tournaments, was held again in Moscow this month after a four-year, COVID-linked hiatus. The less-good news: The field for the 2024 tournament reflected the growing global divisions elsewhere, as a kind of Iron Curtain-lite descends upon the chess world. Published March 19, 2024
Putin claims landslide win in election West dismisses as unfair, undemocratic
In an election without suspense and without genuine competition, Vladimir Putin cruised Sunday to another six-year term as president of Russia, scoring an overwhelming victory after his most serious rivals were either sidelined, exiled or dead. Published March 17, 2024
Netanyahu denounces Senate Majority Leader Schumer’s call for elections as rift deepens with Dems
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and several key Democrats traded broadsides Sunday in a rhetorical battle over the course of the war in Gaza. Published March 17, 2024
Key U.S. base in question as Niger’s junta repudiates military ties
One of the Pentagon's key surveillance bases in sub-Saharan Africa faces an uncertain future after Niger's military junta said this weekend that the American military presence is no longer welcome. Published March 17, 2024
Protesters adopt tactic of late Navalny to register protest to Putin reelection
Late opposition leader Alexei Navalny is playing a role Sunday as Russians complete three days of voting. Published March 17, 2024
Chess: ‘Pragg’ impresses in Prague ahead of Candidates’ battles
The men's and women's Candidates tournaments -- after a few dicey visa issues for the Russian and Indian entrants -- are set to begin less than a month from today in Toronto. At stake when the clocks start April 3 are the rights to challenge Chinese world champion Ding Liren and Chinese women's world champ Ju Wenjun later this year. Published March 12, 2024
Gligoric Trophy winners display the sporting side of chess
FIDE, the international chess federation, has created the Svetozar Gligoric Prize in honor of the late, great Yugoslavian grandmaster, awarded annually to the player who "who displays exemplary behavior promoting the spirit of fair play and sportsmanship in chess." It's a useful corrective to the stereotype that chess is a game played by unhinged personalities who would sell their mother for a promising kingside attack. Published March 5, 2024
Cuba accuses U.S. of inventing spy threat with ex-envoy’s guilty plea
Cuba's foreign minister is accusing the U.S. government of manufacturing an espionage threat in order to justify higher intelligence budgets and "new aggressive steps" against other countries -- just hours after a retired U.S. diplomat agreed to plead guilty of spying for Havana over a long career in public and private service. Published March 1, 2024
Hamas, Israel say Biden out of touch with premature cease-fire talk
President Biden has finally managed to unite Israel and Hamas on one point -- both sides say Mr. Biden's prediction of an imminent cease-fire and prisoner-swap deal is wildly optimistic and out of touch with the realities on the ground. Published February 27, 2024
In the world of team chess, the East is a beast
As the politicians will tell you this election year, support is nice, but it's turnout that's critical. By that score, this year's U.S. Amateur Team East championship, held again in its familiar Parsippany, New Jersey, home, surpassed even its own high standards. Published February 27, 2024
Remembering when the Rooks raged and a chess barrier came down
It might have been the biggest U.S. chess story in the mainstream press since Bobby Fischer's world championship win two decades earlier, and a good one to recall as we mark Black History Month. Published February 20, 2024
Outmanned and outgunned, Ukraine retreats from key town on front lines
Russian military officials say they have established near-total control of the eastern Ukrainian city of Avdiivka after an intense and lengthy battle, pushing Ukrainian forces back several miles along what had long been a frozen front line. Published February 18, 2024
