David R. Sands

An Olympic Games debut for chess in Paris — 100 years ago

Chess won't be winning any medals at the Paris Olympic Games that open later this week, but it was a very different story at the Paris Games 100 years ago. The 1924 Paris Games played a little-known role in kicking off one of the great international traditions in the game, a tradition that is still going strong.

July 23, 2024

European leaders praise Biden as he steps aside, while Russia holds its fire

Praise -- and a few early notes of caution -- poured in from friendly world leaders Sunday in the wake of the news that President Biden is quitting the race against former President Donald Trump.

July 21, 2024

Israeli president praises Biden as Netanyahu prepares to meet lame-duck U.S. leader

Israel's nonpartisan President Isaac Herzog hailed President Biden as a "true ally of the Jewish people" as leaders around the world struggled to process the news Sunday that the U.S. president was stepping down when his term ends in January.

July 21, 2024

Trump, Zelenskyy talk by phone amid questions over future of U.S. support for Ukraine

Former President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held their first telephone conversation Saturday.

July 21, 2024

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu confirms meeting this week with Biden before speech to Congress

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet with President Biden on Tuesday, a day before giving a much-anticipated speech to Congress on the war in Gaza and the crisis in the Middle East, the prime minister's office confirmed Sunday in a statement.

July 21, 2024

Silver hair, gold medal: U.S. men repeat at world senior team chess event

It was a senior moment -- in a good way -- for the U.S. as American squads took home a gold, silver and bronze medal at last week's 2024 FIDE World Senior Team Championships, held in Krakow, Poland.

July 16, 2024

Friends, foes of Trump around the world rush to condemn assassination attempt

World leaders, including many who had been critical of former President Donald Trump and his policies, were quick to express sympathy for Mr. Trump and condemn the assassination attempt at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday.

July 13, 2024

Amid doubts, Biden tries to showcase foreign policy strengths at press conference

President Biden made no major news but avoided major gaffes as he handled a number of hot-button foreign policy issues during his much-anticipated solo press conference Thursday evening.

July 12, 2024

Biden, Yoon praise moves to strengthen U.S. nuclear commitment to deter North Korea

U.S. and South Korean officials say they made significant progress this week on a new pact to strengthen the U.S. nuclear umbrella to defend Seoul in the event of an attack from North Korea.

July 12, 2024

Ukraine on ‘irreversible’ path to NATO membership, chief Stoltenberg says

NATO leaders gave the clearest sign yet that Ukraine will one day be a part of the world's most powerful military alliance, with Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg telling reporters at NATO's 75th anniversary summit in Washington Wednesday that Kyiv's acceptance into the club is now "not a question of if, but when."

July 10, 2024

Quick thinking: Caruana aces rapid playoff to capture Superbet Romania chess title

If he could have played this well this fast before, he might well have won it all. At 31, GM Fabiano Caruana is in danger of going down as this generation's greatest chessplayer never to have captured the world title, a title many think he richly deserves.

July 9, 2024

Iran’s top leader shrugs off weak turnout numbers as presidential runoff vote begins

Iran's top leader attempted to shrug off plunging turnout numbers as Iranian voters headed to the polls Friday for a runoff presidential election between a moderate candidate and one of the country's best-known hard-liners.

July 5, 2024

Labor nabs historic win in British election as Conservatives are ousted after nearly 15 years

The newly center-left Labor party stormed to a massive victory in Britain's parliamentary polls, as exit polls confirmed widely held expectations that the ruling Conservatives would be out of power for the first time in nearly 15 years.

July 4, 2024

Bronstein at 100: Celebrating one of the game’s greatest players, writers and artists

The great Soviet grandmaster David Bronstein, born 100 years ago this year, was among the world's very best players from the 1940s to the 1970s, just missed in his bid to become world champion and wrote some of the greatest chess books of all time.

July 2, 2024

Conservative National Rally takes historic first in French parliamentary vote

France's anti-immigration, far-right National Rally party, once considered a fringe group, scored its biggest electoral triumph to date, taking a clear first place in snap parliamentary elections Sunday called by President Emmanuel Macron in a gamble to try to limit the party's influence.

June 30, 2024

Heavy turnout reported in pivotal French election that could bring conservative gains

French officials reported unusually heavy turnout Sunday in a pivotal snap election called by President Emmanuel Macron that could see a once-fringe right-wing party on the doorstep to power.

June 30, 2024

Hungary’s Orban, allies announce push to unite Europe’s surging right-wing parties

On a day when France's right-wing parties were hoping to score a historic electoral breakthrough, conservative European parties a few hundred miles away were announcing plans for an ambitious continent-wide union of forces.

June 30, 2024

French conservatives looking strong on eve of critical election test

French President Emmanuel Macron's gamble to hold a snap election to thwart the power of rising right-wing parties is looking ever more risky as final polls showed the far-right National Rally poised to score major gains in the first of two rounds of voting Sunday.

June 28, 2024

Lee impresses, but Tan takes the top prize in chess at hard-fought Cairns Cup

Chinese GM Tan Zhongyi made a powerful statement ahead of her world title match next year against reigning women's world champion GM Ju Wenjun, capturing the 4th Cairns Cup over an elite field of female rivals at the St. Louis Chess Club last week.

June 25, 2024

Netanyahu revives claim that White House is holding up needed arms for Gaza fight

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday defended his claims that the U.S. had slow-walked vital arms shipments in the midst of the war in Gaza.

June 23, 2024