David R. Sands

Navarro: Trump White House like the New England Patriots

Peter Navarro, President Trump's increasingly influential economic adviser, compared the Trump White House to the NFL's New England Patriots, saying both have managed to have success despite an unusually high rate of employee turnover.

March 7, 2018

Anatoly Lein, Soviet great-turned-U.S. star, dies at 86

Anatoly Lein, the Leningrad-born grandmaster who was one of the last living members of the wave of Soviet refugees who transformed the U.S. chess landscape in the 1970s and 1980s, died March 1 at the age of 86 at his home outside Cleveland.

March 7, 2018

Russia says soccer fans can bring medical marijuana to 2018 World Cup

The grass won't be just on the pitch when soccer's World Cup kicks off in Russia later this year.

February 28, 2018

Bill Goichberg organizes his way to U.S. Chess Hall of Fame

The 2018 class of inductees into the St. Louis-based World and U.S. Chess Hall of Fame contains some worthy if not particularly unexpected choices.

February 27, 2018

Failing Chess 101 can be a royal pain for the king

When it comes to chess openings, there are a few basic must-dos that even the rankest beginner understands: Develop the pieces. Control the center. Protect the king. But sometimes, it seems, even the very best players forget -- with predictably dire consequences.

February 20, 2018

For Mardi Gras, a celebration of Paul Morphy, New Orleans’ finest

It's Mardi Gras, and we're taking a little mental vacation down to the Big Easy to check out the chess scene.

February 13, 2018

On Gibraltar, Hikaru Nakamura is a Rock star

He may never have trashed a hotel room or shredded his way through a 35-minute guitar solo (as far as we know), but make no mistake -- GM Hikaru Nakamura is a Rock star.

February 6, 2018

O Canada! ‘Sons’ edited out as bill to make anthem gender-neutral moves closer to passage

A bill to make Canada's familiar national anthem less sexist is one step closer to passage.

February 1, 2018

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