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David R. Sands

David R. Sands

dsands@washingtontimes.com

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

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks as he meets NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, Wednesday, April 6, 2022. (Evelyn Hockstein, Pool via AP)

Blinken ‘not overly optimistic’ as Iran deal talks drag on

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said Wednesday he was not "overly optimistic" that the U.S. and Iran can reach a deal to revive the 2015 nuclear deal, after weeks of speculation that a breakthrough in talks in Vienna was imminent.

April 6, 2022
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with top officials on support to aviation industry in Russia amid western sanctions vis videoconference at the Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow, Russia, Thursday, March 31, 2022. (Mikhail Klimentyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

Putin’s approval rate at home soars one month into Ukraine invasion

Western critics say his war is going badly, his economy is staggering and his advisers are misleading him. But Russian President Vladimir Putin's approval numbers at home are shooting up just over one month into his invasion of Ukraine, according to a new poll.

March 31, 2022
Efimenko-Kogan after 43. Qh4.

Nakamura nabs slot in tourney to pick next chess title challenger

U.S. GM Hikaru Nakamura, after a long absence from over-the-board competition, has stormed back to snare one of the last two coveted slots on offer in the upcoming Candidates Tournament, the eight-grandmaster chess round-robin that will produce the next challenger to world champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway.

March 29, 2022
This photo distributed by the North Korean government shows what it says is a test-fire of a Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), at an undisclosed location in North Korea on March 24, 2022. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads: "KCNA" which is the abbreviation for Korean Central News Agency. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP) **FILE**

South Korea says North lied about advanced missile test

North Korea did not successfully launch a next-generation intercontinental ballistic missile last week in a test that alarmed and angered the U.S. and its Asian allies, South Korean military officials said Tuesday.

March 29, 2022
President Joe Biden delivers a speech about the Russian invasion of Ukraine, at the Royal Castle, Saturday, March 26, 2022, in Warsaw. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Biden not getting much backup in call for Putin’s ouster

U.S. President Biden's impassioned demand that Russian President Vladimir Putin step down for starting the war in Ukraine -- the climax of an emotional address in Poland over the weekend -- is not getting much support from the allies Mr. Biden is trying to unify for Kyiv.

March 27, 2022
Andriy Yermak, Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, addresses the media during a press conference at the embassy of the Ukraine in Berlin, Germany, early Friday, Feb. 11, 2022. Foreign policy advisers from Germany, France, Russia and Ukraine, who met in Paris on Jan. 26 without scoring any visible progress, met for another round of talks in Berlin on Thursday. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn) **FiLE**

Top Zelenskyy aide expresses frustration with NATO summit

A top adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday expressed frustration with the outcome of a series of meetings held by President Biden and other NATO leaders this week, saying many of the military requests Kyiv has been pleading for were not met.

March 25, 2022
Anand-Lautier after 19...Rd8.

India to host chess Olympiad after Russia’s bid is nixed

Russia's loss is India's gain. FIDE officials announced last week that the 44th Chess Olympiad, originally set for Moscow this summer, will now be held in the Indian city of Chennai. Russia lost the right to host the event as part of the backlash over its invasion of neighboring Ukraine last month. It will be the first Olympiad ever held in India.

March 22, 2022