David R. Sands

DAVID R. SANDS: Russian Mikhail Antipov surges to win world junior title

It's lost a little of its juice in recent years, but the title of "World Junior Champion" is still a pretty cool line to have on your resume.

September 15, 2015

Kremlin: No plans for Putin, Obama to meet at U.N. gathering

He has Pope Francis on his schedule, but Russian President Vladimir Putin right now has no plans to meet with President Obama when he travels to New York later this month for the 70th anniversary of the founding of the U.N. General Assembly, the Russian leader's spokesman said Thursday.

September 10, 2015

DAVID R. SANDS: Magnus Carlsen, chess champ, comes up short in second straight event

It may not qualify as a slump yet, but Magnus has been just a bit less magnificent in recent days.

September 8, 2015

China’s economic woes provide India with ‘great opportunity’

India's economy has long labored in the shadow of its great Asian rival, but now officials in New Delhi and private economists say Beijing's recent stumbles could provide a big opportunity for India to close the gap.

September 3, 2015

Italian soccer league to introduce ‘green card’ for good behavior on pitch

Italian soccer players will soon be able to get a different kind of recognition from the referees. The Serie B will introduce a "green card" to recognize good sportsmanship and other "acts of virtue" on the pitch.

September 3, 2015

China woes send U.S. stock markets plummeting

Fresh economic data showing softness in the Chinese economy sent U.S. and global stocks plummeting Tuesday, with the blue-chip Dow Jones index of top stocks down some 469 points, or 2.84 percent, to 16,058, and the broader S&P 500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq market also posting losses of more than 2 percent for the day.

September 1, 2015

Vladimir Putin seeks to dump the dollar in regional trade

Russian President Vladimir Putin has a new target in the revived cold war with Washington -- the U.S. dollar.

September 1, 2015

DAVID R. SANDS: Resurgent chess GM Levon Aronian claims Sinquefield Cup title

He was supposed to be an afterthought, the onetime No. 2 player in the world supplanted by a rising generation of Young Guns.

September 1, 2015

China’s leaders on the spot after economic stumbles

Chinese officials say they know exactly who is to blame for a wild week that rocked global stock markets, battered the currencies of emerging markets around the globe, sent commodity prices lower and may have shaved a percentage point or two off of global GDP growth next year: anybody but China.

August 30, 2015

Wall Street roars back with 619-point gain

Wall Street started strong Wednesday and this time didn't falter at the finish line, with the blue chip Dow Jones industrial average reversing six days of losses with a gain of 619 points, or 3.95 percent, to finish at 16,285. The daily increase was the third-biggest point rally in the market's history.

August 26, 2015

Wall Street can’t sustain rally, suffers new losses

A hoped-for rally fell apart in the final hour of trading as U.S. stocks posted another day of losses Tuesday.

August 25, 2015

DAVID R. SANDS: Woulda, coulda, shoulda — mourning chess matches that never came off

The history of chess is full of wished-for matches that never came off. Morphy never got a chance to challenge Staunton on his celebrated trip to Europe. World War I helped torpedo a match between world champion Emanuel Lasker and the star-crossed Polish great Akiba Rubinstein, his strongest rival.

August 25, 2015

U.S., world markets pummeled by China fears

U.S. stock markets experienced one of the wildest trading day in years Monday, with the Dow Jones index losing nearly 1,100 points -- nearly 6 percent of its total value -- in the first few minutes after trading began, staging a spirited rally, but turning strongly negative again to finish off 588 points, or 3.58 percent.

August 24, 2015

After opening plunge, Dow posts second straight 500-point-plus loss

The U.S. stock markets experienced their wildest trading day in years Monday, with the Dow Jones index losing nearly 1,100 points -- nearly 6 percent of its total value -- in the minutes after trading began, staged a spirited rally, but turned strongly negative again with an hour left in the session.

August 24, 2015

As furor grows, U.N. watchdog defends Iran nuclear self-inspections

Amid growing anger on Capitol Hill and in Israel, the head of the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog on Thursday strongly defended the controversial methods that will be used to monitor possible cheating by Iran on the recently signed nuclear deal.

August 20, 2015

DAVID R. SANDS: Gata Kamsky dominates the Washington International chess tourney

It was a wire-to-wire wipeout as U.S. GM Gata Kamsky dominated the fourth annual Washington International open tournament in Rockville last week.

August 19, 2015

With deal in the balance, Iran plans schools to train more nuclear experts

As Congress weighs a deal designed to curb Iran's nuclear programs, a top official in Tehran this week announced plans to construct a string of special schools to train a new generation of nuclear scientists and technologists.

August 19, 2015

Obama eases oil export ban with big swap deal with Mexico

In the latest move undercutting the longstanding ban on exporting U.S. crude oil, the Obama administration has approved a proposal that would trade American lighter sweet crude for heavier crude supplies from Mexico.

August 14, 2015

DAVID R. SANDS: Alexander Shabalov bulldozes chess rivals on way to fifth U.S. Open title

In a dominating performance, GM Alexander Shabalov captured the 116th annual U.S. Open, held this year in Phoenix.

August 12, 2015

DAVID R. SANDS: For summer’s dog days, keeping chess games short and sweet

With the mercury rising and attention spans wilting, we take our traditional midsummer break from rigorous opening analysis or tedious endgame play to focus on some lighter August fare — a collection of miniatures taken from recent tournament play.

August 6, 2015