David R. Sands

North Korea warns U.S.-South Korea military drills will damage ties

North Korea warned Sunday that "hostile" U.S.-South Korean military drills planned for later this month could seriously damage the recent push to improve relations between the two Koreas.

August 1, 2021

Pentagon chief Austin hails arrival of first evacuation flight of Afghans who helped U.S. forces

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Friday welcomed the arrival in the U.S. of the first contingent of Afghan nationals who aided the 20-year U.S. combat mission in their country and now face potential revenge attacks from insurgent Taliban forces.

July 30, 2021

Dismantled oil giant Yukos wins $5 billion judgment against Russia

An international tribunal has ruled that the Russian government owes onetime energy giant Yukos Oil $5 billion in compensation for illegally expropriating its assets and denying it justice in Russian courts.

July 29, 2021

Austin calls out China, promises aid to allies on Asian tour

The U.S. military will strongly defend Taiwan and its other Asian allies and rejects China's expansive sovereignty claims in the South China Sea, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told a high-powered Asian security conference Tuesday.

July 27, 2021

Crowning achievement: Niemann, Wang and Kaidanov claim chess titles

July proved a disorienting month for patriotic American chess players. We opened the month celebrating our declaration of independence from a foreign king and closed the month with a triple coronation right here at home.

July 27, 2021

UN strips famed Liverpool docks of historic designation

The United Nations' lead cultural agency has unceremoniously stripped the British city of Liverpool of its coveted status as a world heritage site, ruling that new commercial development has robbed the port's famed Victorian-era docks of their unique cultural and architectural value.

July 21, 2021

For a weekly chess columnist, an embarrassment of riches

"How do you find enough material to fill a weekly column?" The question comes up surprisingly frequently from my poor, deprived non-chess-loving friends.

July 20, 2021

U.S. forges new alliances to prep for post-Afghan War reality in Central Asia

The Biden administration has announced plans for a new formal relationship with Pakistan, Afghanistan and the Central Asian nation of Uzbekistan, the latest signs of geopolitical tug of war in the region in the wake of the U.S. and allied troop pullout from Afghanistan.

July 16, 2021

Vive la France! Alireza Firouzja latest chess star to be given a Gallic welcome

France's Bastille Day, which we mark this week, celebrates the final days of a notorious royalist prison in 1789 that inmates were trying to escape from. Which for chessplayers is more than a bit ironic, as France ever since has represented a place to escape to.

July 13, 2021

Rhetoric from ‘Free Iran’ summit strikes nerve, sparks regime’s ire

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and a parade of former officials and current lawmakers from countries around the world 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.

July 11, 2021

Kinzinger: U.S. military may have to return to Afghanistan

Departing American troops may soon have to return to Afghanistan as the security situation deteriorates and the Taliban step up their offensive against the U.S.-backed Kabul government, a key lawmaker said Sunday.

July 11, 2021

Pope’s first public appearance closely scrutinized after surgery

Pope Francis on Sunday made his first public appearance after intestinal surgery last week, offering thanks for the prayers of the faithful.

July 11, 2021

Pompeo calls for stepped-up pressure on ‘weak’ Iranian regime

Iran's theocratic government is at "its weakest point in its now 40 years of existence," former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told a global virtual rally of exiled regime opponents Saturday, arguing that now is the time for the U.S. and its allies to increase pressure on hardline President-elect Ebrahim Raisi as he prepared to take office.

July 10, 2021

Republicans and Democrats slated to join rally condemning Iran’s government

A bipartisan collection of key U.S. lawmakers, including the Republican leader in the House and the Democrat who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, will be among those addressing a major online gathering this weekend of Iranian dissident exiles fiercely opposed to the theocratic regime in Tehran.

July 9, 2021

Kerry to travel to Russia for climate talks amid bilateral tensions

John Kerry, President Biden's top adviser on climate issues, will travel to Moscow next week for meetings with senior Russian officials, the Kremlin confirmed Friday.

July 9, 2021

Prodigy’s prodigious feat — Mishra becomes a chess grandmaster at 12

It was quick, but it wasn't easy. New Jersey prodigy Abhimanyu Mishra last week became the youngest grandmaster in history, earning a third and final norm for the game's highest honor at a tournament in Budapest.

July 6, 2021

The Rating Game: Elo’s chess rankings prove their worth

Arpad Elo knew his stuff. The Hungarian American physicist in the 1950s and 1960s adapted and perfected a system to rate the strength of chessplayers, first for the U.S. and then for the world. The Elo rankings proved both revelatory and useful, allowing for better pairings at tournaments and much fairer class competitions.

June 29, 2021

Carol Jarecki: From chess mom to one of the game’s greatest referees

John Jarecki had a brief but notable chess career in the 1980s, holding the record for a time as the youngest American player to earn the title of master. But as so often happens, Jarecki decided against the life of a full-time chess player and decided to pursue other career paths. But he would have a major impact on the game in an unexpected way -- through his mother, Carol Jarecki.

June 22, 2021

Putin outpoints Biden in taking on the global press corps

In their willingness to face a free press in an unscripted, potentially hostile environment, score one surprising victory for Russian President Vladimir Putin over President Biden in their dueling press conferences following their one-day Geneva summit Wednesday.

June 16, 2021

Anand’s heirs show future bright for Indian chess

India was not exactly a chess superpower when the great Viswanathan Anand burst on to the scene in the early 1980s. His storied career included a six-year reign as undisputed classical world champion starting in 2007. Known for his lightning-quick play as a youth, Anand also racked up a number of rapid and blitz world titles as well.

June 15, 2021