David R. Sands

Birthday boy Benko has left a lasting mark on the game of chess

In the popular imagination, he's perhaps most famous for the tournament in which he didn't play. Pal Benko, the Hungarian-American GM who turns 90 on July 14, willingly gave up his slot in the 1970 Interzonal Tournament to Bobby Fischer, putting Fischer on track to win his epic world title match against Boris Spassky two years later.

July 3, 2018

H.E. Bird displayed a healthy appetite for chess brilliance

'I never beat a healthy man." That wry old observation, attributed to the great British 19th-century master H.E. Bird, came to mind recently on the news that Chinese GM Ding Liren fractured his hip in a bicycle accident and had to withdraw midway through the strong Altibox Norway Chess tournament last month.

June 26, 2018

A splendid little skirmish from NATO’s chess championship

As the generals say, there's a lot to be learned from a little war. Take, for example, today's first game from the recent 29th NATO Chess Championship, held in Lubbock, Texas.

June 19, 2018

Sam Shankland snares third chess title in a row

As it seems we have been reporting for the past two months, red-hot American GM Sam Shankland has won another tournament with yet one more undefeated, dominating performance.

June 12, 2018

For Magnus Carlsen, Fabiano Caruana, familiarity breeds respect

Time was when chess world championship matches included a lengthy getting-to-know-you phase.

June 5, 2018

George Soros, Budapest-born financier, shined in spotlight with ‘Stop Soros Bill’

George Soros has become so prominent in the Hungarian domestic political debate that the crackdown on illegal immigration pushed by nationalist prime Minister Viktor Orban's Fidesz party in parliament this week is widely being described as the "Stop Soros Bill."

May 31, 2018

Hungary a ‘natural ally’ of Trump as Pompeo, Peter Szijjarto meet

NEWSMAKER INTERVIEW: Hungary has no intention of joining the "U.S.-bashing chorus in Europe," in part because Budapest and Washington now are singing from the same page on issues such as immigration, security and the right of sovereign nations to set their own policies, Hungary's foreign minister said in an interview.

May 31, 2018

Chess angels aided the wounded during World War II

As we mark Memorial Day this week, let us remember the ways chess has done its part to cheer and console those who go to war.

May 30, 2018

Moon Jae-in, South Korea president, calls emergency meeting after Donald Trump cancels Kim summit

Apparently blindsided by President Trump's decision to cancel next month's summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, South Korean President Moon Jae-in convened an emergency meeting of his top security officials in Seoul Thursday night to discuss what happens next.

May 24, 2018

Pompeo: North Korea shut off talks on prepping for Trump-Kim summit

North Korea shut down bilateral contacts to prepare for the proposed summit between President Trump Kim Jong-un several days before Mr. Trump on Thursday abruptly called off the planned June 12 meeting in Singapore, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told a congressional hearing.

May 24, 2018

Britain gets a princess, but chess has a new queen

Britain, as you may have heard, has a new princess. But chess has a new queen.

May 22, 2018

Indian minister makes first visit to North Korea in decades

In a sign other countries are rushing into the diplomatic breach opened by the U.S.-North Korea rapprochement, a top Indian diplomat is making the first trip by a senior Indian official to Pyongyang in two decades.

May 17, 2018

Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on track for big congressional majority in Mexico vote

Leftist candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has opened up such a wide lead ahead of July 1's Mexican presidential vote that his coattails could give his party a working congressional majority as well, according to a new polling analysis released this week.

May 16, 2018

A feisty, fun-filled fight for the women’s world chess title

If you crave feisty, frantic, fun-filled world championship-caliber chess, the women have the men beat by a mile.

May 15, 2018

Kuwait continues Iran straddle after Trump decision

Kuwait, the one Persian Gulf Arab nation that has tried to maintain relations with Iran, is continuing its diplomatic straddle a day after President Trump announced the U.S. was pulling out of the 2015 nuclear accord with Tehran.

May 9, 2018

Pompeo in second secret trip to North Korea to prepare Trump-Kim summit

New Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is making an unannounced trip to North Korea for more discussions ahead of a planned summit between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, Mr. Trump announced at the White House Tuesday.

May 8, 2018

Opening statement — a chess struggle in Black and White

Good offense, as a wise man once observed, always beats good defense -- and vice versa.

May 8, 2018

Russia eyes closer Iran ties, more trade if Trump nixes nuclear deal

A top Russian official said bilateral relations and trade with Iran could actually be enhanced if President Trump follows through on a threat to take the United States out of the 2015 nuclear deal with Tehran next week.

May 4, 2018

Samuel Shankland surprises, Nazi Paikidze repeats at U.S. chess championships

He's been overshadowed by the U.S. "Big Three" and can hear the footsteps of a rising generation of American grandmasters eager to claim their place in the pecking order.

May 1, 2018

France argues Israeli evidence bolsters argument for Iran nuclear deal

The French government said Tuesday that its preliminary review of blockbuster new evidence of Iran's nuclear ambitions released by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu actually provides another argument for keeping the 2015 nuclear deal with Tehran in place.

May 1, 2018