David R. Sands

SANDS: A full house at U.S. Amateur Team East chess championship

As the politicians will tell you this election year, support is nice, but it's turnout that's critical. By that score, this year's U.S. Amateur Team East championship, held again in its familiar Parsippany, N.J., home, surpassed even its high standards.

March 13, 2012

SANDS: Saluting some chess greats of greatest generation

Chess is witnessing the passing of its own "greatest generation" of luminaries who came of age in the years after World War II and would reshape and dominate the game for decades. In the past few years, we've lost two world champions — Bobby Fischer and Soviet star Vassily Smyslov — as well as such notables as German GM Wolfgang Unzicker, American Larry Evans, and the British player and author R.G. Wade.

March 6, 2012

Conservative activist Andrew Breitbart dies at 43

Andrew Breitbart, the conservative journalist, Internet pioneer and provocateur who helped reshape the media landscape with tenacious and original political style, died early Thursday after collapsing on the street near his Los Angeles home. He was 43.

March 1, 2012

SANDS: Opposites attack: Great chess rivalry from century ago

They were polar opposites at the chessboard and, because of that, produced one of the most intriguing collections of head-to-head battles in the history of the game.

February 28, 2012

SANDS: A royal conundrum: What to do about the king?

The beginning player is taught that the primary objectives of opening play are to develop the pieces and get the king castled safely. More sophisticated players know that in many modern opening lines, those rules, particularly about the king, are made to be broken. Sometimes, those sophisticated players would be wise to play like the beginners.

February 20, 2012

SANDS: At the chessboard, expect sparks if lovers mate

Some wag once observed that no one ever joined the chess team in high school to meet girls, but for this, our Valentine's Day column, we'd like at least to try to make the case that chess and romance can prove a potent pair.

February 14, 2012

SANDS: A poisoned pawn that hasn’t lost its kick

Next time you're dining in Gibraltar, think twice before ordering the pawns. Two sharp games showcasing the notorious Sicilian Poisoned Pawn Variation top the menu today, served up at the just-concluded Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival, held on the British island at the entrance to the Mediterranean.

February 7, 2012

SANDS: Low-key Aronian soars high in Wijk aan Zee chess tournament

Armenian GM Levon Aronian has added another chapter to a career that has been both illustrious and somewhat under the radar, capturing the 74th Tata Steel Grandmaster "A" Tournament in Wijk aan Zee, Netherlands, Sunday by a full point over Norway's Magnus Carlsen and Azerbaijan's Teimour Radjabov. Despite a loss to Carlsen during the Category 21 event, Aronian won going away, notching a quick last-round draw to finish at a very impressive 9-4.

January 31, 2012

SANDS: Drama in Dutch chess bout is from the undercards

Having spent the bulk of my competitive playing career somewhere in the middle of the wall chart, I am firmly convinced that some of the highest drama at a chess tournament can be found on some of the lowest boards.

January 24, 2012

SANDS: Some are still ready to risk a fabled gambit

The most romantic of chess openings doesn't get many dates these days. A favorite of 19th-century masters, including Paul Morphy and Johannes Zukertort, and a powerful — if occasional — weapon in the arsenal of gunslingers such as David Bronstein and Boris Spassky, the King's Gambit is a rarity on the modern tournament circuit.

January 17, 2012

SANDS: Giri, in a wild chess finish, wins Reggio Emilia

Was it the field or the format? This year's Reggio Emilia Tournament, the 54th edition of the event held in the small northern Italian city at the start of the new year, proved to be one of the most entertaining events in recent memory, with a large number of decisive games, an epic collapse by American GM Hikaru Nakamura and a stunning come-from-behind victory for 17-year-old Dutch star Anish Giri, who won the first of what likely will be many elite tournament trophies in the coming year.

January 10, 2012

SANDS: Kaidanov’s chess homework pays at Eastern Open

Kentucky GM Gregory Kaidanov is perhaps better known today as a chess teacher than a competitor. But he gave his students an object lesson on the value of doing one's homework while winning the 39th annual Eastern Open, held last week at its traditional home at the Westin Washington hotel downtown.

January 3, 2012

SANDS: Shooting the chess rapids for the holiday season

The holidays are traditionally a season of hustle and bustle, so what better time is there for holding a major rapid championship?

December 27, 2011

SANDS: Top chess players on tap as Eastern starts Dec. 27

It's the most wonderful time of the year, time for that special event that lifts us out of the winter doldrums. Yes, the 38th annual Eastern Open kicks off Dec. 27, a four-section, seven-round Swiss event that regularly attracts one of the largest and strongest fields for a regional event.

December 13, 2011

Nebraska electoral-vote rule unique

For states considering divvying up their electoral votes in presidential elections for partisan advantage, Rep. Lee Terry, Nebraska Republican, has a little advice: Be careful what you wish for.

December 6, 2011

SANDS: Tweeters all thumbs in friendly world chess match

They're allowed 140 characters, but Team Twitter lasted only 22 moves. As part of the opening ceremonies for the London Chess Classic last week, the nine English and international grandmasters in the field took on the world in a friendly game via Twitter, with fans around the world tweeting in their preferred moves.

December 6, 2011

SANDS: Chess, politics clash as Iran forfeits to Israel

The most interesting game of the past month may have been one that was never played.

November 8, 2011

SANDS: SPICE in Texas gets U.S. out of chess backwater

We can claim the Super Bowl, the World Series and three of golf's four "majors," and we have played host to eight Olympics. But when it comes to staging big-time chess events, the U.S. is something of a backwater. So for patriotic reasons if nothing else, it's nice to report on the fifth annual SPICE Cup, staged last month in Lubbock, Texas, by Texas Tech University and the Susan Polgar Foundation.

November 1, 2011

SANDS: Enkhbat, Chiang soar in Continental tourney

The Continental Class Championships, which wrapped up last week in Arlington, featured a couple of players punching well above their weight.

October 18, 2011

SANDS: Enkhbat surge surprises at class championships

Texas GM Alejandro Ramirez and surprising Maryland IM Tegshsuren Enkhbat shared the lead entering the final turn in the Continental Class Championships, held over Columbus Day weekend in Arlington. The nine-round event, one of the strongest on the area's chess calendar, concluded too late Monday night for the results to be included in this column.

October 11, 2011