David R. Sands

SANDS: Song soars with dramatic Cadet chess victory

It came down to one game for all the marbles in the final round of the U.S. Cadet Championship in Rockville, Maryland, last week, with co-leaders Edward Song of Michigan and Kapil Chandran of Connecticut paired against each other.

SANDS: Cadets battle as D.C. summer chess scene heats up

With the D.C. International and the World Open just behind us, and a slew of events underway and on the way, the Washington area is emerging as one of the nation's premier summer hot spots for top-flight chess.

SANDS: Winners take three paths to the top at the 42nd World Chess Open

There are many paths to world domination. The 42nd World Open, held earlier this month at the Hyatt Regency in Crystal City, produced a three-way tie at the top, with GMs Ilya Smirin of Israel, Illya Nyzhnyk of Ukraine and Conrad Holt sharing the honors in the Open section with 7-2 scores. Smirin would claim the official title after a playoff.

SANDS: Ortiz Suarez wins D.C., Smirin wins the World

It sometimes gets billed as the "warm-up" to the World Open, but the D.C. International Tournament doesn't have to accept second billing to any other event these days.

SANDS: Fourth time a charm as Troff captures U.S. junior chess title

America's newest grandmaster is also its 2014 junior champion.

SANDS: Campaigning and competing on Capitol Hill

Appropriately, there was a lot of lobbying, some politicking and a little competing at the first public meeting of the Congressional Chess Caucus last week, held in a committee room at the House Rayburn Office Building.

SANDS: Kasparov, new caucus mark first congressional chess tourney

There will be some bipartisanship at the board this week on Capitol Hill, as the newly hatched Congressional Chess Caucus on Wednesday, June 18 hosts the inaugural Congressional Chess Tournament, with former world champion Garry Kasparov on hand to enforce the touch-move rule.

SANDS: Sometimes a chess queen is too powerful for her own good

As the great chess theorem we just invented puts it: More power, more problems.

SANDS: As chess player and teacher, Velimirovic made his mark

Great players leave a double legacy — the games they play and the players they influence. One can see that in spades in the career of the fine Serbian GM Dragoljub Velimirovic, who passed away late last month at the age of 72.

SANDS: In the end, Kamsky, Krush repeat as U.S. chess champions

They made it interesting for the longest time, but in the end it was the favorites raising the trophies at last week's U.S. national championship tournaments at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of St. Louis.

SANDS: Kamsky, Krush win playoffs for U.S. chess titles

Favorites GM Gata Kamsky and GM Irina Krush have repeated as U.S. men's and women's champions, with both winning three-way playoffs at the U.S. title tournaments in St. Louis Tuesday afternoon.

SANDS: Chess is a war game devastated by war

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

SANDS: Carlsen continues mastery of Nakamura at Gashimov Memorial chess tournament

History suggests you can win a world championship without having beaten the world champion before.

SANDS: A big loss for the D.C. chess community

The Washington chess community suffered a big loss last month with the sudden passing of Life Master Bill Mason at the much-too-young age of 49.

SANDS: Fields set for next month’s U.S. championship chess tourneys

U.S. No. 1 Hikaru Nakamura won't be there this year, but it will still be a strong field for next month's U.S. Chess Championship, to be held at its familiar home at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of St. Louis.

SANDS: High-powered Webster claims second straight college chess crown

In college football, the big names include Alabama, Ohio State and Notre Dame. In college chess, the big names on campus are the likes of Webster University, Texas Tech and the University of Maryland-Baltimore County.

SANDS: Rematch point: Chess champions, challengers often meet again

Indian GM Viswanathan Anand's easy win in the FIDE Candidates Tournament that wrapped up late last month in Russia took many by surprise.

SANDS: Steady Anand earns rematch with Carlsen for world chess title

If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs, you just might get another shot at being the world champion.

Anand earns rematch against Carlsen for chess title

SANDS: Anand in command as candidates tourney nears chess finale

The chess world may have written off the ex-champ a little too soon.