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David R. Sands

David R. Sands covered numerous beats, including international trade, banking, politics and Capitol Hill, and spent eight years on the foreign desk as senior diplomatic correspondent. He has authored The Times' weekly chess column since 1993.

Articles by David R. Sands

Fall season heats up with U.S. title tourneys, Washington Chess Congress

The fall chess season is in full swing, with strong national and local events on tap in the coming days and a world title match to look forward to in November.

October 5, 2021

Johnson won’t ease Brexit immigration curbs despite gas woes

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he will not ease Brexit-related rules on immigration to address a lack of truck drivers.

October 3, 2021

China stages aerial ‘military parade’ with record sorties near Taiwan

China's military staged a massive show of intimidation over the Taiwan Strait over the weekend, dispatching bombers, fighter jets and other aircraft into Taiwan's defensive air space in two waves Friday and Saturday, by far the biggest such incursion in recent years.

October 3, 2021

Kishida in line to be Japan’s next prime minister after close party vote

Former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida has won a hotly contested leadership race to head Japan's long-ruling Liberal Democratic Party, putting him on track to succeed resigning Yoshihide Suga as prime minister of a key U.S. ally.

September 29, 2021

Local chess star Kaufman serves up engaging ‘Options’ in new memoir

Growing up in the DMV, I recall competing in a lot of tournaments with GM Larry Kaufman -- and by "with" I mean in the same giant hotel ballroom or church social hall, though Kaufman was likely to be playing on Board 1 or 2, while I was off trying to snare some Class B money out on Board 176.

September 28, 2021

Huawei exec cuts deal with U.S. prosecutors, poised to return home after long extradition battle

A legal battle spanning three countries that soured China's relations with the U.S. could be ending as a top executive of Chinese high-tech giant Huawei reached an agreement with federal prosecutors.

September 24, 2021

Scintillating attack helps Russia to gold in Online Olympiad

While some traditional over-the-board tournaments are now coming back to life, the COVID-19 scare is still proving too much for the biennial Chess Olympiad, given the logistical and safety concerns of hosting nearly 200 open and women's teams from around the world.

September 21, 2021

Gen. Milley defends China calls as ‘perfectly within the duties’ of job

Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley of Friday defended calls he made to his Chinese counterpart in the final days of the Trump administration as "routine" and necessary to "ensure strategic stability" in a deeply uncertain time.

September 17, 2021

Iran angling for invite to Chinese-led security pact after years of waiting

Iran looks likely to get a long-delayed invitation to join the Shanghai Cooperation Organization when leaders of the 20-year-old Chinese-led security forum meet over the next two days in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.

September 16, 2021

North, South Korea trade charges after dueling missile tests

North and South Korea are trading rhetorical volleys just hours after the hostile neighbors staged near-simultaneous missile tests that sent tensions surging once again on the divided Korean Peninsula.

September 15, 2021

Chess champ, challenger square off in rare pre-match battle

Another week, another unwritten rule of the game thrown on the ash heap of history. We wrote last week of the unusual sight of world champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway and challenger Ian Nepomniachtchi of Russia actively competing on the world chess scene with their title match barely more than two months away. Time was when the prospective gladiators would withdraw totally from the arena, working in secret with seconds and trainers in preparation for the Big Match.

September 14, 2021

Dissident summit sparks Iran regime’s ire

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and a parade of former officials and current lawmakers told a mass virtual gathering of Iranian exiles over the weekend that the regime in Tehran was weak, illegitimate, incompetent and not long for this world.

September 13, 2021

Neighbors wary as Russia, Belarus kick off major joint military drill

Russian military officials said Thursday they have formally begun a major military exercise with neighboring Belarus, despite the unease expressed by a number of countries in the region.

September 9, 2021

Carlsen stays in the arena with chess title match looming

That he won another chess tournament doesn't surprise anyone. But that world champion Magnus Carlsen is even playing these days -- just over two months before the Norwegian great makes his fourth title defense against Russian challenger GM Ian Nepomniachtchi -- might have a few old-school masters turning over in their grave.

September 7, 2021