David R. Sands

Russia’s U.S. expats to be able to vote in March presidential election

Russians living in the United States will be able to cast their ballots for another term for President Vladimir Putin in March without having to go home.

January 17, 2024

No rust on Ding as chess champ returns to the board at Tata Steel Masters

It was more bang than whimper as world champion Ding Liren returned to the chessboard after an absence of more than eight months.

January 16, 2024

Point taken: Firouzja’s year-end blitz snags last chess title tourney slot

Like that butterfly wingflap that spawns a hurricane in Florida, an otherwise unremarkable year-end Swiss tournament in northern France may just help decide the next chess world champion.

January 9, 2024

Iraq fumes as U.S. drone strike takes out Iran-linked militia leader in Baghdad

A U.S. military airstrike has killed a top Iraqi Shiite militia leader who the Pentagon says helped orchestrate recent attacks on American forces stationed in the country, bringing an angry protest from the Iraqi government.

January 4, 2024

Ringing in the new year with some nice chess wins from the old

It's always nice to start a new chess year with a rush of momentum from the one just past, so we focus this week on some of the big winners from December, traditionally a very crowded time on the global chess calendar.

January 2, 2024

U.S. destroyer kills Houthi raiders as Red Sea shipping clashes escalate

U.S. Navy vessels dispatched to protect international shipping sank three small boats, killing the occupants, and downed two anti-ship missiles fired by Iran-allied Houthis forces in Yemen in the Red Sea, the U.S. Central Command announced Sunday.

December 31, 2023

Champion Lasker was a Christmas season gift to the chess world

It technically came a day early, but the chess world was given a wonderful Christmas present 150 years ago on Dec. 24, 1868, with the birth of Emanuel Lasker in the German (now Polish) town of Berlinchen.

December 26, 2023

Szabo’s February brilliancy among the best of chess in 2023

GM Gergely Szabo's fabulous sacrificial win at February's Romanian championship tournament was tipped early on as a candidate for "game of the year."

December 19, 2023

Sunk costs: As Biden seeks more money for Ukraine, a look at what’s already been sent

How much money has the United States provided Ukraine as its war to fight off an invading Russian army nears the 22-month mark? Let us count the ways.

December 14, 2023

Missing-in-action champ Ding Liren plans return to chessboard

Does the name Ding ring a bell? You may be excused if you don't quite recall the name, seeing as how GM Ding Liren has been largely missing in action since he defeated Russian Ian Nepomniachtchi in thrilling fashion in Kazakhstan in April to become the first Chinese world chess champion.

December 12, 2023

Prospects for new cease-fire dim as Israel presses campaign in southern Gaza

The nation that helped broker a string of prisoner-for-hostages swaps between Israel and Hamas militants warned Sunday that the window for future deals may be closing as Israeli forces intensify attacks in southern Gaza.

December 10, 2023

U.S. blocks U.N. Security Council resolution demanding Gaza cease-fire

The U.S. exercised its veto on the U.N. Security Council Friday to block a resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire in the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

December 8, 2023

Caruana’s cup runneth over with win at Sinquefield chess clash

China's GM Ding Liren may have won the world championship this spring, but it's hard to think of another player who has had a better 2023 than America's own GM Fabiano Caruana.

December 5, 2023

A long wait for action at Sinquefield leads to a search for chess drama elsewhere

The Sinquefield Cup, annually the strongest invitational tournament in the U.S., got off to a less than stellar start at the Chess Club of St. Louis, with just two decisive games -- two -- through Sunday's Round 5 and Polish GM Jan-Krzysztof Duda pulling out of the 10-grandmaster field after Round 1, citing ill health.

November 28, 2023

Saudi Arabia beats out South Korea, Italy for right to host 2030 World Expo

Saudi Arabia's capital of Riyadh has won a tense bidding war for the right to host the 2030 World Expo, beating out rival bids from Rome and the South Korean port city of Busan.

November 28, 2023

Matchless — why one-on-one chess combat is largely a thing of the past

Well, stand your butt up then." "You stand your butt up, big guy." That actual exchange from an actual recent Senate hearing may have been less than edifying, but it did get us thinking about the stark decline in that ultimate in mano a mano chess, the challenge match between two consenting chessplayers.

November 21, 2023

U.S. slams Daniel Ortega, wife as Nicaragua ditches hemisphere’s Organization of American States

The Biden administration sharply criticized Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega and Vice President Rosario Murillo as the nation on Sunday officially left the pan-American Organization of American States.

November 19, 2023

Qatari mediator sounds hopeful note on Israel-Hamas hostage deal

Qatar's prime minister has sounded an optimistic note that a deal could soon be struck to free a large number of Israeli and foreign hostages held by the Palestinian militant group Hamas after its murderous rampage across southern Israel nearly six weeks ago.

November 19, 2023

Top British court rejects government plan to ship asylum seekers to Rwanda

Britain's Supreme Court on Wednesday unanimously ruled that a polarizing government plan to ship asylum seekers to Rwanda could not be carried out.

November 15, 2023

Finding sanctuary in a chess library

Not that writing a chess column qualifies as hazardous journalism, but sometimes trying to keep up with the news from the wide world of chess can be like trying to drink from the proverbial firehose.

November 14, 2023