David R. Sands

Some early holiday cheer for young chess champs in Spokane, Washington

'Tis the season -- and the week -- of great anticipation for children all over the world. And some of those children are not waiting until Dec. 25 to claim the presents under the tree.

December 23, 2025

Indian phenom in chess snags last berth in Candidates’ field

Indian GM Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa -- "Pragg" to his friends and space-stressed headline writers everywhere -- has snagged the eighth and final slot in next spring's Candidates tournament, riding a string of strong results this year that began with a win at the elite Tata Steel Masters in January and wrapped up with a tie for first in the just-completed London Chess Classic Open.

December 16, 2025

Best of Chess freeware serves up only the fun stuff

Santa has come a little early this year, if you happen to be a chess columnist pressed for high-entertainment content during the holiday season.

December 9, 2025

Unlikely trio joins race to challenge chess champ Gukesh

The field of grandmasters competing in the next spring's Candidates Tournament to pick a challenger to reigning world champ GM Dommaraju Gukesh of India is now all but set, and one thing is for sure: There will be a lot of dark horses in the stable when the clocks start in Cyprus on March 28.

December 2, 2025

Narrow escapes, reasons for gratitude at the chessboard

In this week of giving thanks, perhaps no one has greater cause for gratitude than Chinese GM Wei Yi.

November 25, 2025

Dulles tourney puts Nakamura over the top in title quest

If American GM Hikaru Nakamura succeeds in his quest to become the first American world chess champion since Bobby Fischer abdicated the throne 50 years ago, let the record show the crucial contributions provided by Tanush Dokka, Khanim Ismayilova, FM Matthew Guo Diao, IM Susal Thewjan De Silva and GM Praveen Balakrishnan.

November 18, 2025

Local boy makes good: Ginsburg shares world senior title

It sounds like a paradox, but the D.C. area is becoming something of a cradle for senior world champions.

November 11, 2025

Suba’s originality helped reshape modern chess

Grandmaster Mihai Suba, who died last week at the age of 78, had a distinguished career at the chessboard.

November 4, 2025

Naroditsky’s death casts pall over U.S. title tournaments

It was a wrenching week of the familiar and the unfathomable for American chess.

October 28, 2025

Fierce fights as U.S. title tourneys near climax

It's just past the halfway point in the U.S. open and women's national championship tournaments, with fierce fights for the crown still very much up in the air at this point.

October 21, 2025

An Oktoberfest toast to a German chess breakthrough

Appropriately for this Oktoberfest season, German chess is having a moment.

October 14, 2025

Two very different glimpses into the future of chess

We have just been given a peek at the possible future of chess -- in more ways than one.

October 7, 2025

At 100, an iconoclast’s ‘System’ still packs a punch

In 1925, the German-language edition of Aron Nimzowitsch's "Mein System" hit the bookstores, laying out for the first time in comprehensive fashion the key principles of the newfangled hypermodern school of chess.

September 30, 2025

Young U.S. stars shine in FIDE Swiss battle

There has been a lot of buzz recently (including in this space) about a rising generation of young Indian chess stars poised to dominate the game in the coming years.

September 23, 2025

Playing down for a shot at chess’ highest prize

The road to the chess world championship just may wind through New Orleans and Iowa City.

September 16, 2025

Plucky U.S. squad shares third in NATO chess tilt

NATO has had its issues in recent times, but fortunately, the U.S. and its military allies are still able to come together for some friendly skirmishing at the chessboard.

September 9, 2025

Peddi, So shine during a busy August for chess

August is the month when the world shuts down and the chess scene heats up.

September 2, 2025

A defensive master’s attacking masterpieces

It may sound like the chess equivalent of "Babe Ruth's Best Bunts," but Swedish IM Thomas Engqvist's new book "Ulf the Attacker" shines an unexpected light on one of his country's best and most popular players of the modern era.

August 19, 2025

Swiercz’s surge leads to U.S. Open title

There was some heartbreak and last-round drama at the 125th annual U.S. Open in Middleton, Wisconsin, last week, with Missouri GM Darius Swiercz emerging from the pack to take solo first and punch his ticket for a berth in the next U.S. national championship tournament.

August 12, 2025

Remembering when the Raging Rooks took down a chess barrier

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 one still worth recalling today for its impact on the direction of American chess.

August 5, 2025