David R. Sands

China celebrates Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank charter signing with U.S. allies

The United States won't be there, but dozens of Washington's closest friends and allies will be on hand Monday as China celebrates a diplomatic and economic triumph with the signing of the formal charter for its proposed new Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.

June 28, 2015

Walter Browne, six-time U.S chess champ, dies suddenly at 66

Walter Browne, a fearless attacker and indomitable competitor who dominated the American chess scene in the years after world champion Bobby Fischer retired from the game, died suddenly in his sleep Wednesday at the age of 66.

June 25, 2015

DAVID R. SANDS: In the 64-square chess universe, home-field advantage hard to find

It's a game played on an unchanging battlefield of 64 squares with a fixed array of forces, so it would make sense that there's not much of a home-field advantage in chess.

June 23, 2015

DAVID R. SANDS: When real-world wars intrude on chess battles

Chess is a war game that doesn't do well in wartime.

June 16, 2015

DAVID R. SANDS: The double-edged immortality of your own chess opening

When world champion Magnus Carlsen sits down to defend his crown early next year, it's a near certainty he won't be trotting the "Carlsen Opening," or even the "Carlsen Variation" against his still-to-be-determined challenger.

June 10, 2015

Russia bans baby detergent from Ukraine

The standoff between Russia and neighboring Ukraine reached new heights -- or depths -- Tuesday as health officials in Moscow announced a ban on baby laundry detergent made by Ukraine's leading producer, citing what they said were violations of sanitary and epidemiological regulations.

June 9, 2015

DAVID R. SANDS: Xiong, Wei fuel youth movement in chess events an ocean apart

There was some strange karma going on in two chess tournaments a world apart last week.

June 6, 2015

U.S. allies not waiting for Iran’s sanctions to come down

Italian oil executives visit Tehran, scouting out deals. French farmers and fisheries discuss technological exchanges with their Iranian counterparts. Pakistan prepares to lay down a major oil pipeline through Iran, while rival India opens talks with Iranian officials about developing a major port in the Gulf of Oman to ship Indian goods to Afghanistan.

May 27, 2015

DAVID R. SANDS: For military men, a mixed record on the chessboard

It's the world's greatest war game, but that doesn't mean that generals and admirals are natural stars at chess.

May 26, 2015

A Doolittle Raider offers some long-distance healing

One last bit of healing from a long-distant war played out this month at Taiwan's diplomatic outpost in Washington in the run-up to this year's Memorial Day celebrations.

May 22, 2015

Russia closes NATO supply corridor to Afghanistan

The Russian government has closed down a key military transport corridor that allowed the U.S. and its NATO allies to supply forces serving in neighboring Afghanistan.

May 19, 2015

DAVID R. SANDS: Coming home, Fabiano Caruana adds pop to U.S. chess lineup

It's become a paradox of modern sports: Choosing up sides has become as big a draw as the games themselves.

May 19, 2015

Iranian ayatollah: U.S. ‘hallucinating’ about access to military nuke sites

Iranian top officials are vowing that the country's military bases will not be opened to international inspectors under any deal to curb Tehran's nuclear programs, throwing a major potential roadblock in President Obama's hopes of concluding a breakthrough deal by next month's deadline.

May 15, 2015

Fabiano Caruana, top chess grandmaster, applies to play for U.S.

Fabiano Caruana, the U.S.-born Italian chess grandmaster now ranked third in the world, is coming home.

May 12, 2015

DAVID R. SANDS: Yochanan Afek scores unprecedented fourth chess title

In the hallways of Chess High, the over-the-board stars and the problemists tend to run in sharply separated cliques.

May 12, 2015

Diplomatic diss to Obama: Russia, China step up ties with new investment bank

In just the latest sign of warming bilateral ties, Russian and Chinese officials announced plans Friday to form a jointly-run investment bank designed in part to funnel Chinese investor money into Russian companies.

May 8, 2015

Periscope chief: Live-streaming app not about piracy

The co-founder of Periscope Inc. said the new live videostreaming app is "unequivocally" opposed to pirating after the company faced complaints that users were effectively stealing and instantly re-broadcasting video of the recent Mayweather-Pacquiao boxing match on pay-per-view.

May 6, 2015

DAVID R. SANDS: China rules, young Americans shine in world team chess battle

China extended its impressive, run but there was a bright silver lining for the young American squad at the just-finished FIDE World Team Championships in Armenia.

May 5, 2015

New Russia-China alliance latest diplomatic, strategic blow to Obama

From the moon to the Mediterranean to the heart of Moscow, China and Russia in recent days have announced a striking number of moves to strengthen military, financial and political ties, raising the specter of a deeper alliance between the U.S. rivals.

April 30, 2015

Obama denies trying to subvert China’s new bank

The U.S. is not trying to undercut a new China-sponsored infrastructure bank for Asia or pressure allies not to take part, but remains wary that the proposed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank may not have the right lending standards and transparency to be effective, President Obama said Tuesday.

April 28, 2015