David R. Sands
Articles by David R. Sands
Dow cracks 15,000 mark after jobs report
Wall Street rocketed into record territory Friday after the government released its latest jobs report, with the Dow Jones index of 30 top stocks cracking the 15,000 mark for the first time in history. Stocks retreated later in the day, but still posted a record closing price of 14,973.96, up 142.38 points or 0.96 percent. Published May 3, 2013
Beleaguered H&R Block offers refund of its own: Gift cards for customers
Tax preparation giant H&R Block, embarrassed by a filing glitch this tax season that contributed to a delay in refunds for hundreds of thousands of clients, is offering up a refund of its own with a $25 gift credit card to those affected. Published May 3, 2013
SANDS: Top chess players in action at home and abroad
It's an embarrassment of riches for a chess journalist these days, with not one but two major tournaments in progress across the pond and the U.S. championships gearing up to start in St. Louis later this week. Published April 30, 2013
SANDS: Kaidanov, Karff voted into U.S. Chess Hall of Fame
From Kashdan, Koltanowski and Keres back in the day to Korchnoi, Karpov and Kasparov in the modern era, the "K" section of the encyclopedia has long been a thick and fertile source of chess greatness. Published April 23, 2013
Ruslan Tsarni says nephews Dzhokhar and Tamerlan are ‘losers’
The Maryland uncle for the two brothers suspected in Monday's Boston Marathon bombing angrily denounced his nephews as "losers" who failed to assimilate into American society, while saying it was a "fraud" to suggest their Islamic faith was to blame the attack. Published April 19, 2013
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev talked of Islamic faith: Moscow paper
Boston bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev said on his Russian social media page that his world view was "Islam," while his older brother Tamerlan Tsarnaev talked about being "very religious" and complained there "are no values anymore," according to an English-language Russian newspaper. Published April 19, 2013
George Beverly Shea, the Rev. Billy Graham’s longtime soloist, dies at 104
Grammy-winning gospel singer George Beverly Shea, an integral part of the ministry of Rev. Billy Graham for more than seven decades, died Tuesday after a brief illness at the age of 104, the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association announced. Published April 17, 2013
SANDS: GM Robert Byrne, chess columnist, dies at age 84
We were going to start this week's column with a preview of the coming Anand-Carlsen world title match when word came over the weekend of the passing of New York GM Robert Byrne at the age of 84. Published April 16, 2013
SANDS: In defeat, Kramnik joins a storied chess group
Norwegian GM Magnus Carlsen's moonwalking gambit getting ahead while moving backward inspires some thoughts on some of the game's most famous losses over the years. Published April 9, 2013
Thatcher blazed trails around the world
Former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was famous for her uncompromising political style and unapologetic embrace of bedrock British middle-class values. "The lady's not for turning," she once famously remarked in a political debate. Published April 8, 2013
Margaret Thatcher dies at 87; former British prime minister was Reagan’s political soul mate
Former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who transformed Britain in the 1980s with a core of conservative convictions and history's most formidable handbag, died Monday of a stroke. She was 87 years old. Published April 8, 2013
Markets fall on jobs report
The major U.S. stock markets headed down sharply Friday morning on the news that the economy added only 88,000 jobs in March, despite the official unemployment rate ticking down 0.1 percentage point to a four-year low of 7.6 percent. Published April 5, 2013
SANDS: Carlsen (barely) qualifies for title chess match with Anand
He stumbled across the finish line, but Norway's young superstar Magnus Carlsen has earned a date against reigning world champion Viswanathan Anand of India in a title match later this year. Published April 2, 2013
Norwegian star Carlsen wins slot in chess world title match
Grandmaster Magnus Carlsen of Norway qualified for a match for the world chess championship Monday, narrowly winning the candidates tournament featuring eight of the world's best players in London. The 22-year-old chess superstar, the highest-rated player in the world, will take on reigning champ Viswanathan Anand of India in a one-on-one match later this year. Published April 1, 2013
Obama administration under fire in gay marriage arguments
Gay marriage is on trial but it was the Obama administration facing the heat as the Supreme Court began the second of two days of landmark oral arguments on the constitutionality of gay marriage. Published March 27, 2013
SANDS: Carlsen sets the pace in candidates chess tournament
World No. 1 GM Magnus Carlsen of Norway is the leader at the half-post in the FIDE Candidates Tournament now under way in London. Co-leader Levon Aronian suffered his first loss of the event in Monday's Round 9 against Israel GM Boris Gelfand, leaving Carlsen alone in first by a half-point in the double round-robin event. Published March 26, 2013
SANDS: Aronian grabs the early lead in London challenger chess tourney
With wins over Israeli Boris Gelfand and Ukraine’s Vassily Ivanchuk in successive rounds, world No. 3 Levon Aronian is the early leader in the FIDE candidates’ tournament that kicked off Friday in London. Aronian held a half-point lead over top-seeded Magnus Carlsen of Norway and Russian GM Peter Svidler, both at 2-1, going into Monday’s first rest day. Published March 19, 2013
SANDS: Brilliant win, brilliant loss a round apart at chess championship
Chinese WGM Ju Wenjun starred in both roles — in consecutive rounds — at the FIDE Women’s World Teams Championship now wrapping up in Astana, Kazakhstan. The event has attracted the 10 strongest female squads in the world for a round-robin championship. Big losses to the Chinese and Georgians have left the American women on the outside looking in, although they did bounce back Sunday with a 2½-1½ upset of the powerful Russian women’s team. Published March 12, 2013
Sheet Music’s last note: Magazine puts out last issue as number of piano players plunges
Magazines going out of business isn’t exactly big news these days, but this one hurts: Sheet Music Magazine informed its dwindling band of mostly aging subscribers this month that it is shutting down after nearly 3,000 songs and 36 years of putting out “the Magazine You Can Play.” The fall 2012 issue marked the end. Published March 12, 2013
SANDS: Princeton chess squad tops crowded field at Amateur East
Tiger! Tiger! Tiger! That old Princeton cheer is apropos as the Princeton University A team posted the only 6-0 score to take last month’s Amateur Team East Championship at its traditional home in Parsippany, N.J. Published March 5, 2013
