David R. Sands
Articles by David R. Sands
SANDS: A Rocky-like chess bout from the Romantic era
World champion visits Philadelphia. Sportingly agrees to a match with a local star. Gets clocked. Published March 11, 2014
SANDS: Going old school: Big chess milestones for 2014
With the history of organized tournament play dating back to the mid-19th century, we're hitting some pretty significant milestones in the history of the game this year. Published February 25, 2014
SANDS: If you knew Sochi like chess players knew Sochi
Sochi was on the chess players' map long before the lugers, ice dancers and speedskaters showed up. Published February 18, 2014
SANDS: Chess champion Magnus Carlsen finally shows a little imperfection
He can be beaten. Norway's Magnus Carlsen claimed the world title in October without dropping a game in his 10-game match with India's Viswanathan Anand. In his first return to competitive play since then, he breezed through the first half of the Zurich Chess Classic that ended last week with three wins and two draws at classical time controls, against one of the strongest fields ever assembled. Published February 11, 2014
SANDS: Carlsen, Aronian set the pace at Zurich Chess Challenge
The world's very best are squaring off at the Zurich Chess Challenge now underway in the Swiss city, with world champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway showing no signs of coasting after capturing the crown in November. Carlsen and world No. 2 Levon Aronian of Armenia dominated the classical portion of the six-grandmaster event, which will feature a separate rapid round-robin event this week. Published February 4, 2014
SANDS: Aronian dominates in Tata kickoff chess tournament
While new world champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway was taking a Silicon Valley victory lap, GM Levon Aronian of Armenia was winning the first major tournament of 2014 and in the process making a strong statement that he might be Carlsen's most dangerous challenger in the candidates' cycle ahead. Published January 29, 2014
SANDS: Smith, Huseynov share the chess honors at 40th Eastern Open
He finished alone in third, but Georgian-born New York GM Mikheil Kekelidze wasn't exactly given a warm welcome by the locals at last month's 40th Eastern Open, the traditional year-end giant Swiss event that moved from its longtime home in downtown Washington to the DoubleTree Hotel in suburban Bethesda. Published January 21, 2014
SANDS: Grand milestone: Indispensable ‘Week in Chess’ turns 1,000
The Internet chess community marked a major milestone this month with the publication of TWIC 1000. Published January 14, 2014
The late Ariel Sharon is admired for his unwavering defense of Israel
Israelis great and small lined up to say a final goodbye Sunday to the flag-draped coffin of Ariel Sharon, as the country, the region and the rest of the world struggled to come to grips with the complicated legacy of one of Israel's most towering and divisive figures. Published January 11, 2014
Ariel Sharon, former Israeli prime minister, dies at 85 after long illness
Ariel Sharon, a pivotal figure in Israel's history from his days as a foot soldier in the country's 1948 war for independence to his final years as a prime minister seeking a permanent peace in one of the world's toughest neighborhoods, has died after a lengthy illness. He was 85. Published January 9, 2014
SANDS: Now an underdog, UMBC snares a place in collegiate chess Final Four
It's a measure of how good the college game has become that the University of Maryland-Baltimore County's second-place finish in last month's Pan-American Intercollegiate Team Championship, hosted by Texas Tech in Lubbock, ranked as at least a mild upset. Published January 7, 2014
SANDS: Iran’s Pouya scores breakthrough during World Youth Championship
Young Iranian IM Idani Pouya was the surprise winner of the Under-18 open tournament at the just-concluded World Youth Championships held in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates, becoming in the process the first player from his country to claim a world title. Published December 30, 2013
SANDS: Double-dipping: Winning and losing at chess the Basque way
In Basque chess, revenge apparently is a dish served piping hot. Basque chess — a format I had never heard of before — pits two players against each other in a pair of simultaneous rapid (Game/25) games, with each player playing White in one game and Black in the other. Published December 24, 2013
SANDS: Anand returns, Nakamura shines in London rapid chess battle
Viswanathan Anand made a comeback and Hikaru Nakamura made a statement in the premier event at the 5th London Chess Classic that ended Sunday, a rapid tournament pitting 16 of the world's best players in a star-studded knockout tournament. Published December 17, 2013
SANDS: Nelson Mandela at the chessboard: A prisoner’s solace
It's only a footnote to his monumental legacy, but there's a chess angle to the story of the life of Nelson Mandela, the great South African leader who passed away last week at the age of 95. Published December 10, 2013
SANDS: Shark attack: Miami wins first U.S. Chess League title
As the chess world gets used to a new champion, the everyday machinery of tournaments and matches is clanking back to life. New Norwegian world titleholder Magnus Carlsen is promising to be an active and visible champion, but is understandably taking a little personal "me time" after his decisive win last month dethroning India's Viswanathan Anand in Chennai, India. Published December 3, 2013
SANDS: Magnus Carlsen’s future bright as the new king of chess
What next for Magnus the Magnificent? The victory of the young, dynamic Norwegian GM Magnus Carlsen in dethroning world champion Viswanathan Anand in their title match last week has sent an electric thrill through fans of the game worldwide. Published November 26, 2013
Norway’s Magnus Carlsen wins world chess title
Norway's Magnus Carlsen is the new world chess champion, dethroning Indian titleholder Viswanathan Anand with a draw in the 10th game of their scheduled 12-game match in Chennai, India, Friday. Published November 22, 2013
Magnus Carlsen on verge of world chess title with quick win over champion
Norwegian challenger Magnus Carlsen is on the brink of becoming his country's first world chess champion following a stunning 28-move victory over Indian champion Viswanthan Anand Thursday in the ninth game of their scheduled 12-round match in Chennai, India. Published November 21, 2013
SANDS: Carlsen close to chess title as Anand cracks under endgame pressure
The outcome of the world championship match now just past the halfway point in Chennai, India, may have been sealed in Saturday's Game 6 in what rates as a truly multicultural moment: a Norwegian defeating an Indian in a Spanish Game through the use of the Chinese water torture. Published November 19, 2013
