David R. Sands
Articles by David R. Sands
SANDS: From Italy, at long last, a renaissance in chess fortunes
It has been a bit of a fallow period for the past few centuries or so, but Italian chess may finally be experiencing its Renaissance. Published February 26, 2013
SANDS: In famous small town, chess attack is in the water
It's been a famous spa resort dating back to the Roman Empire days, so it's no surprise that there seems to be something in the water in the Black Forest town of Baden-Baden. Published February 19, 2013
SANDS: Old-fashioned pleasures of a rattling good chess attack
Shelves of books — and reams of columns — have been written on the importance of positional play, the variety of pawn structures, the art of the endgame and the subtleties of the 16...a6 line of the Nimzo-Peloponnesian Benko Gambit Reversed. But in their heart of hearts, even the most sophisticated players would prefer to execute a rattling good attack leading to neat checkmate. Published February 12, 2013
SANDS: A radical approach arises to teach the game of chess
Name-checking Borges, Foucault, P.T. Barnum, Stephen Pinker and Mao Zedong along the way, Dutch IM Willy Hendriks has written a chess instruction manual quite unlike any other in the literature. Published February 5, 2013
Wall Street greets jobless increase with new rally
U.S. stock markets shrugged off an uptick in the national employment rate, with the Dow Jones Industrial Index crossing the 14,000 mark for the first time since 2007 in early trading Friday. The Dow fell back below that benchmark later in the morning, but was still up more than 100 points, or nearly 1 percent. Published February 1, 2013
SANDS: Carlsen steamrolls elite chess field in Wijk aan Zee, Netherlands
Not since the days of Thor has a Norwegian wielded such a mighty hammer. Obliterating a world-class field, Norway superstar GM Magnus Carlsen has taken the first major tournament of the year, winning the elite Tata Steel “A” Tournament with a stunning 10-3 score, matching the record total for the event set by former world champion and onetime Carlsen coach Garry Kasparov. Published January 29, 2013
SANDS: Wijk aan Zee presents Dutch bounty of chess action
Like one of those busy Pieter Bruegel peasant harvest paintings that seem to be breaking out of the frame, the annual blowout Tata Steel Tournament at the Dutch coastal city of Wijk aan Zee features an almost overflowing bounty of chess. There's a huge nine-round Swiss event for amateurs, a seven-round rapid tournament and, of course, three -- count 'em, three -- 14-player invitational round-robin tournaments in which the weakest "C" tournament boasts six grandmasters and an average rating of over 2460. Published January 22, 2013
Barack H. Obama drops Hussein from inauguration ceremony
The Barack Hussein Obama of 2009 has been replaced in President Obama's second inaugural celebration by "Barack H. Obama." Published January 21, 2013
SANDS: Tradition chess towns host strong events
The first great tournament of the new year kicked off Saturday with the 75th Tata Steel Tournament in the fabled Dutch chess town of Wijk aan Zee, with an all-star field in the premiere event capped by world No. 1 seed Magnus Carlsen of Norway, Armenian star Levon Aronian and U.S. champion Hikaru Nakamura. Published January 14, 2013
Tennessee chamber sets quota on bills for members
Taking the concept of limited government to the next level, the Republican-controlled Tennessee House of Representatives this week passed a rule capping the number of bills a member can introduce each year at 15. Published January 12, 2013
Deal saves Wonder Bread; Twinkies still in limbo
Bankrupt bakery giant Hostess Brands Inc. has announced a tentative agreement to sell its Wonder Bread brand to archrival Flower Foods Inc., maker of Tastykakes, while it continues to seek a buyer for its iconic snack line of Twinkies, Devil Dogs and Ho Hos, among others. Published January 12, 2013
Report: Armstrong to confess doping to Oprah
Disgraced cycling star Lance Armstrong is poised to admit he took performance-enhancing drugs during a career that included seven Tour de France victories, according to a published report. Published January 12, 2013
Obama: Sorry, no Death Star for you
While conceding its potential contributions to job creation and defense against intergalactic threats, the Obama administration officially announced this week that a U.S. Death Star "is not on the horizon." Published January 12, 2013
Obama: Time to come home from Afghanistan
A day after meeting with Afghan President Hamid Karzai at the White House, President Obama used his weekly radio address to highlight the progress made in the fight against terrorists there and make the case it is time for the U.S. involvement to end. Published January 12, 2013
GOP’s Fischer takes tough line on debt hike
Count freshman Sen. Deb Fischer as one more Republican lawmaker determined to use the looming deadline to raise the federal borrowing limit to force through major cuts in government spending. Published January 12, 2013
SANDS: Class winners shine at D.C.’s Eastern Open in chess
As promised last week, here is a list of all the winners at last month’s Eastern Open in Washington, D.C., as well as a nice game from Open section champion IM Daniel Ludwig. Published January 8, 2013
113th Congress mirrors increasingly diverse U.S.
The changing face of Congress can be seen in the changing faces of Congress. Published January 7, 2013
SANDS: Ludwig wins Eastern Open in chess; UMBC in Final Four
Congratulations to IM Daniel Ludwig, who took clear first Sunday night in the 2012 Eastern Open downtown at the Westin Washington Hotel with an undefeated 6½-1½ score, a full point ahead of a quartet of challengers. Published January 1, 2013
SANDS: Celebrating a trio of Christmas babies who contributed to chess
For all the blessings of the day, there’s no denying it can be a drag sharing a Dec. 25 birthday with you-know-who. So we thought we’d pass on a little yuletide cheer to a trio of Christmas babies for their contributions to the game. Published December 25, 2012
SANDS: Chess Eastern Open to kick off Dec. 27
'Tis the season to roll up the board, pack up the pieces and put some fresh batteries in the old chess clock: The 39th annual Eastern Open, a four-day extravaganza, kicks off Dec. 27 at its longtime home at the Westin Washington D.C. City Center hotel at 1400 M St. NW. Published December 18, 2012
