David R. Sands

SANDS: Shabalov, Sokolov are on top of the World

Holding off a battalion of younger challengers, a pair of well-seasoned veterans secured the top places on the chess leaderboard at the 40th World Open, which wrapped up Sunday at its traditional home in Philadelphia.

July 10, 2012

SANDS: U.S. Chess Center, founder to be honored

Congratulations to the U.S. Chess Center and its founder, David Mehler, who will be honored for their work with area youths at the U.S. Chess Federation 2012 annual awards next month in Vancouver, Wash.

July 3, 2012

SANDS: National Open kicks off summer rush of chess tournaments

While much of the rest of the world is checking out vacation schedules and beach condo rental rates, the U.S. chess world is gearing up for perhaps its busiest stretch of the year, with tournaments galore in the coming days to keep a columnist busy.

June 26, 2012

SANDS: Maryland hosts string of top chess events in July

For two weeks and two days starting late next month, the Rockville Hilton will be the chess epicenter of the country as Maryland Chess Association officials plan five major events in the space of 16 days, including a strong open tournament featuring former U.S. champion Gata Kamsky and Potomac-based former world senior champ GM Larry Kaufman.

June 19, 2012

SANDS: Top GMs mix it up in Moscow in spirit of Tal

Mikhail Tal, the great Soviet world champion, rarely lacked the will or the inclination to mix it up, but the same thing cannot always be said of his elite peers.

June 12, 2012

TWT polls: Rubio is conservatives’ top pick for Romney’s running mate

Sen. Marco Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants and a rapidly rising star in the Republican Party, emerged this weekend as the clear favorite potential vice presidential pick of conservative activists, according to two polls sponsored by The Washington Times.

June 10, 2012

TWT Poll: Rubio top conservative pick for Romney’s running mate

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio emerged as the clear first choice of conservative activists as a running mate for GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney this fall, beating out his nearest rival by a margin of 2-to-1, according to a Washington Times-sponsored poll of more than 500 attendees of the Conservative Political Action Committee (CPAC) gathering in Chicago on Friday.

June 8, 2012

SANDS: Anand retains chess crown by slimmest of margins

By the narrowest of margins, world chess champion Viswanathan Anand of India has retained the crown he has held since 2007, defeating a game Israeli GM Boris Gelfand in a four-game rapid playoff Thursday in Moscow after the two deadlocked 6-6 in their classical title match.

June 5, 2012

Indian Anand retains world chess title

Indian world chess champion Viswanathan Anand successfully defended his crown Wednesday, winning a four-game playoff in Moscow over challenger Boris Gelfand, who was seeking to become the first Israeli grandmaster ever to hold the title.

May 30, 2012

SANDS: World chess championship heads for rapid playoff

The FIDE world championship match is headed into overtime as Indian champ Viswanathan Anand and Israeli challenger Boris Gelfand drew their final game Monday to finish knotted at 6-6. Aside from a brief dust-up that produced victories for each player in Games 7 and 8, the two players resembled a pair of soccer teams content to settle things with penalty kicks, unwilling to take any risks to try to score a goal.

May 29, 2012

SANDS: Nakamura, Krush reclaim U.S. chess titles

Two ex-champions are back atop the heap in American chess and we finally got a little action in the world title match as well, in what proved to be an exceptionally eventful week for the game.

May 22, 2012

SANDS: No blood spilled in Moscow’s early chess clashes

The world championship chess match in Moscow between Indian titleholder Viswanathan Anand of India and challenger Boris Gelfand of Israel has reached the quarter post, with a few fireworks but no decisive results in the first three games of the scheduled 12-game match.

May 15, 2012

SANDS: World, U.S. chess titles up for grabs this week

It may not be the sexiest chess pairing of all time, but we have a legitimate world championship match on tap and one that could prove more entertaining than some anticipate.

May 8, 2012

SANDS: Spirited chess battle a draw for Kramnik, Aronian

The six-game match between Russian GM Vladimir Kramnik and Armenian GM Levon Aronian that wrapped up in Zurich on Sunday proved unexpectedly entertaining. The world's No. 2 and No. 3 players, evenly matched and theoretically armed to the teeth, showed a refreshing willingness to mix it up and take risks before settling for a 3-3 tie after Kramnik just missed a win in Sunday's final round.

May 1, 2012

SANDS: Catching a chess champion when he’s distracted

Champions may be most vulnerable right before they defend their titles. Deep into the preparation for his 12-game match against challenger GM Boris Gelfand of Israel starting May 11 in Moscow, titleholder Viswanathan Anand of India took a little timeout this month to hold down first board for the Baden-Baden team in final rounds of the powerful German chess Bundesliga.

April 24, 2012

SANDS: Chess champion Kaufman offers new, improved opening book

Intending to update his highly praised 2003 book "The Chess Advantage in Black and White," Potomac GM and former world senior champion Larry Kaufman instead has produced a major new opening book likely to prove useful for competitors from casual club players to experienced masters.

April 17, 2012

SANDS: Buzzer-beater clinches chess title for Texas Tech

To the disappointment of basketball fans everywhere, this year's hardwood version of the collegiate Final Four featured no buzzer-beaters, no last-minute 3-pointers to win the game. Happily, the collegiate chess version of the Final Four, won for the second straight year by the Texas Tech Knight Raiders earlier this month, offered a bit more excitement as the clocks ticked down on the decisive game.

April 10, 2012

SANDS: Chess players who didn’t spring forward fall back

They can analyze complex positions 15 moves deep, memorize reams of opening variations and endgame theory, rattle off the moves of games played a decade ago — but they can't remember to set their clocks an hour ahead.

April 3, 2012

SANDS: Rising stars light up Euro chess championship

Cue the chorus of "Sunrise, Sunset." In one more sign that kids grow up fast these days, 17-year-old prodigy GM Anish Giri had what for him rates as a novel experience: losing to a younger player. At the 13th European Individual Championship now under way in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, the reigning Dutch national champ fell to 15-year-old fellow prodigy GM Ilya Nyzhnyk from Ukraine.

March 27, 2012

SANDS: Chess match made in heaven won’t come off in Beijing

For one brief, shining moment last week, the impending world championship fight between Indian titleholder Viswanathan Anand and Israeli challenger Boris Gelfand was shaping up to be the second most interesting match of the year.

March 20, 2012