David R. Sands

Jeffery Xiong shines in the shadow of Magnus Carlsen’s brilliance at Tata Steel event

In newspaper terms, the sidebars may have been more compelling than the main story at the 80th running of the powerful Tata Steel Chess Tournament in the chess-obsessed Dutch city of Wijk aan Zee. Despite a game challenge from local star GM Anish Giri, Norwegian world champion Magnus Carlsen prevailed in a blitz playoff for his record sixth Tata title Sunday.

January 31, 2018

Russia shrugs as U.S. vows new sanctions — eventually

Treasury Secretary Stephen T. Mnuchin insisted Tuesday that the Trump administration is still weighing sanctions related to Russian election meddling even after the State Department let the deadline pass without imposing any further penalties.

January 30, 2018

Canada first: U.S. trade panel unexpectedly rejects Boeing trade complaint

A U.S. trade panel has unexpectedly rejected a claim from aerospace giant Boeing Inc. against Montreal-based Bombardier Inc., in one of the most high-profile corporate trade battles to date of the Trump administration.

January 26, 2018

South Korean President Moon Jae-in takes hit in polls with North Korea overture

South Korean President Moon Jae-in has taken a significant hit to his popularity in the wake of his diplomatic overture promising warmer ties with North Korea, a new poll shows.

January 26, 2018

When the player matters more than the pieces on the chessboard

The Wise Old Master was shown a particularly complex middle-game position, and his students inquired: Who stands better, White or Black?

January 23, 2018

A Hail Mary leads to answered prayers at the chessboard

A "Hail Mary," as ecstatic Minnesota Vikings fans could tell you this week, is one of those last-second, throw-it-and-hope football plays that miraculously works out, where your guy comes down with the ball to score the winning touchdown. There are no wide receivers in chess, but the idea of snatching victory from defeat with a high-risk, long-odds final play is a very familiar one.

January 16, 2018

Levada Institute, best-known Russian pollster, to stop releasing results

Russia's best-known independent polling shop said Tuesday it will stop publishing the results of its surveys, citing the legal risk after it was officially listed as a "foreign agent" by the government.

January 16, 2018

Webster University again the definition of excellence in college chess fight

There were 58 teams entered in last month's Pan-American Intercollegiate Championships held in Columbus, Ohio, but the match everyone was waiting for came in Round 5.

January 9, 2018

U.S. House to take up resolution slamming Iran for protest crackdown

Two top House Republicans have introduced a resolution supporting the Iranian people and condemning the regime in Tehran after a week of street protests that have resulted in more than 20 deaths across the country.

January 5, 2018

Alexander Shabalov dominates chess field in 44th Eastern Open

It was the "Shabba Show" as GM Alexander Shabalov ran away with the 44th annual Eastern Open, the traditional local year-ending tournament held last week at the Westin Hotel in Tysons Corner.

January 2, 2018

Spending the holidays with some dear old chess friends

It's Christmas week, so we don't plan any heavy lifting today. No breaking news, no cutting-edge opening theory, just a little quality time with some old, comfortable companions. We start with the clever little six-move mate in today's diagram by Swedish composer V. Ropke. Even the most eggnog-addled problem-hater should have no trouble solving this one.

December 26, 2017

Despite Trump, Haley threats, U.N. overwhelmingly opposes U.S. Jerusalem move

Brushing aside threats from President Trump and America's U.N. envoy Nikki Haley, the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday overwhelmingly approved a resolution effectively condemning Mr. Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital and calling on Washington to rescind plans to move the U.S. Embassy there.

December 21, 2017

Have yourself a very merry war on Christmas — over the chessboard

A war on Christmas? Bring it on. D.C.'s traditional Eastern Open, which starts next Tuesday, is just one of a number of popular events traditionally held around this time of year.

December 19, 2017

A rowdy chess game beyond the ken of our silicon overlords

Two of the strongest players in the history of chess just played an epic 100-game match -- and hardly anyone noticed.

December 12, 2017

Shivering Chinese cities allowed to turn back to coal

Chinese environmental regulators said this week that northern cities facing a winter freeze and a lack of electricity and natural gas can use coal to keep warm.

December 8, 2017

U.S. escalates feud with Russia over suspected INF treaty missile violations

The Trump administration is planning new diplomatic, military and economic steps to pressure Russia after concluding earlier this week that Moscow had violated the landmark Intermediate Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty by deploying a new missile that U.S. military officials say is not allowed under the 1987 deal.

December 8, 2017