David R. Sands

Remembering when the Rooks raged and a chess barrier came down

It might have been the biggest U.S. chess story in the mainstream press since Bobby Fischer's world championship win two decades earlier. The Raging Rooks, a scrappy team of Black, Hispanic and Asian players from Harlem's Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Junior High School, tied for first in the 1991 U.S. National Junior High School Championships in Dearborn, Michigan.

October 6, 2026

Chess angels aided the wounded during World War II

Many soldiers, sailors and airmen have been strong chess players, and chess has long been a popular way to pass the time in bivouacs, military hospitals and POW camps.

September 29, 2026

Positional chess sacrifices call for delayed gratification

Sacrificing a queen for a quick checkmate is always fun, but there's a lot to be said for sacrificing a pawn in the opening that leads to a winning endgame dozens of moves down the road.

September 22, 2026

April Fools’ gold: Chess deceit and deception

With all the pieces visible to both players and all the rules much pretty set in concrete, it's hard to think of a good April Fools' Day joke to play over the board in tournament play that doesn't run the risk of getting you forfeited.

September 15, 2026

The game in Spain: Honoring Ruy Lopez and his heirs

Your humble columnist is about to embark on his first trip to Spain and thought that would be a good excuse for a quick dip into the legacy of one of Europe's oldest and most storied chess nations.

September 8, 2026

Centennial chess: Partying like it’s 1876

With our national 250th birthday party coming to a close, now seems a good time to check in on how the American chess community marked the country's first 100 years way back in 1876.

September 1, 2026

So, Tan big winners in elite St. Louis invitationals

Every generation, it seems, puts forward a chess star whose talent outpaces his ambition, whose grasp stops far short of his reach.

August 25, 2026

Sinquefield, Cairns clashes coming down to the wire

St. Louis is proving quite the accommodating host this summer. Just days after staging the senior and junior U.S. open and women's championships, the St. Louis Chess Club is again multitasking as the site for the Sinquefield Cup and Cairns Cup, annually among the stronger open and female invitational tournaments in the country.

August 18, 2026

Oparin doubles up with Washington International, U.S. Open wins

In American chess this summer, the road to renown runs through Rockville, Maryland.

August 11, 2026

Mass coronation: Junior, senior chess champs crowned in St. Louis

It's been a bull market for laurel leaves this summer, as the country crowned a quartet of new U.S. champions in recent days.

August 4, 2026

MOMA celebrates Marcel Duchamp’s passion for chess

It's always nice to see chess have a moment in the larger culture, especially a moment not tied to the latest cheating scandal or geopolitical standoff.

July 21, 2026

World Open drama, success goes beyond top boards

Early reports say the District of Columbia's tourism sector had a banner Fourth of July to mark the nation's 250th birthday, and the world's chess players certainly did their part.

July 14, 2026

Three share World Open chess honors after final-round dogfight

Let's hope the World Cup finale comes close to matching the drama of the finale of the World Open.

July 7, 2026

A 250th birthday salute to America’s rich, complex chess legacy

We've had nearly 250 years of trying, but it's still hard to pin down an identifiable "American" style of chess.

June 30, 2026

Second chances: Niemann, Yoo rebuild their chess careers

It's said you get only one chance to make a first impression, and two promising young American chess talents badly botched their audition.

June 23, 2026

A father’s inspiration, a lifetime of chess

Like many of you, I suspect, I learned how to play chess as a young boy from my father.

June 16, 2026

Young stars shine in top women’s chess events

Next week, we'll explore how great the chess dads are, but we thought we'd beat the pre-Father's Day rush with a couple of superb recent performances from the ladies.

June 9, 2026

A packed summer of fun awaits Washington area chess fans

The Hot Girl Summer of 2025 is giving way to the Sizzling Chess Summer of 2026, at least for fans of the Royal Game here in the DMV.

June 2, 2026

Chess in uniform: A celebration of those who serve

As we marked Memorial Day this week, let us also remember the ways chess has done its part to cheer and console those who go to war.

May 26, 2026

Argentine prodigy Oro secures GM rank in near-record time

They grow up so fast these days. The world will soon have its first grandmaster born in the Obama administration's second term, as talented Argentine prodigy Faustino Oro secured the third and final norm this month to qualify for the game's most prestigious title.

May 19, 2026