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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

Huntsberger-Helms after 26. Bc2xd1.

A chess columnist’s tribute to chess columnists

The estimable Chess Journalists of America has just handed out its 2019 awards and our humble little effort here has once again been named the "best regular newspaper chess column" in the country.

August 20, 2019
Mitkov-Paul after 29. Kg1-h2.

Illya Nyzhnyk shuts the door at U.S. Open with last-round chess win

The U.S. Open is looking pretty spry these days, considering it just turned 120. The nation's premier open chess tournament passed the latest milestone this month, providing a good bit of drama along the way. Ukrainian-born GM Illya Nyzhnyk claimed solo first and a spot in next year's U.S. Closed Championship with a dominating 8-1 result in Orlando, Florida.

August 13, 2019
U.S. Ambassador to Canada Kelly Knight Craft stands during her swearing in ceremony in the Indian Treaty Room in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House grounds in Washington. The Senate has confirmed Craft to become the next U.S. envoy to the United Nations. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

Kelly Craft confirmed to be U.N. ambassador by Senate

Despite a last-minute push by minority Democrats, the Senate on Wednesday approved President Trump's choice of Kelly Craft, a former ambassador to Canada and major donor to Republican causes, as the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

July 31, 2019
Short-Timman after 30...h7-h5.

In chess, the king is not always a royal pain

It is not, in fact, always good to be the king. In chess, the king is both indispensable and a giant pain in the neck, an entitled, one-square-at-a-time attention hog who needs constant protection and reinforcement. Still, there are some rare examples where the king gets to shine, when His Majesty takes the initiative and doesn't just sit there leading from behind.

July 31, 2019
Yip-Wu after 26...Kh8.

Awonder Liang, Carissa Yip, Alex Shabalov shine in triple chess championships

Two weeks' worth of hard work at the Chess Club of St. Louis produced three new U.S. champions, with 16-year-old Wisconsin GM Awonder Liang recording a rare three-peat as U.S. junior champion, edging out New Jersey GM Nicolas Checa in a playoff after the two tied in the 10-player invitational at 7-2.

July 23, 2019
Andriasian-Gabuzyan after 27...Ne5-c4.

Seniors sizzle among a tsunami of summer chess events

The so-called dog days for summer can leave a chess columnist dog tired. That's because the hot weather and vacation schedules annually combine for a tsunami of summer tournaments, from superelite events in Europe to national championships in Norway and Uzbekistan to a slew of strong Swiss tournaments across the U.S.

July 16, 2019
Katz-Nyzhnyk after 25. Qh5xf5.

Aleksandra Goryachkina, a dark horse, gallops to win in women’s chess candidates

If you overlook her Under-10, Under-14 and Under-18 girls' world championships, her two world junior girls' titles and her two Russian women's championship belts, there was no way one would have predicted 20-year-old GM Aleksandra Goryachkina's stunning result in this month's women's candidates' tournament in Kazan, Russia.

June 25, 2019
Sailors stand on deck above a hole the U.S. Navy says was made by a limpet mine on the damaged Panama-flagged, Japanese owned oil tanker Kokuka Courageous, anchored off Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, during a trip organized by the Navy for journalists, Wednesday, June 19, 2019. The limpet mines used to attack a Japanese-owned oil tanker near the Strait of Hormuz last week bore “a striking resemblance” to similar mines previously seen in Iran, a U.S. Navy explosives expert said Wednesday, stopping short of directly blaming Tehran for the assault. (AP Photo/Fay Abuelgasim) **FILE**

Iranian commander: Could have shot down manned U.S. plane if we wanted to

A top commander of the hard-line Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps said Friday that his forces could have shot down a U.S. Navy P8 plane with 35 people of board on the same day it downed an unmanned U.S. surveillance drone, but "refrained" from doing so to send a message to Washington.

June 21, 2019
Gunina-Lagno after 45...Kg8-g7.

Fierce fighting in tournament to challenge for women’s chess crown

For the second week in a row, we're going to focus on the women. and the Middle East. Today, we move to the Big Girls' Table, where eight of the world's strongest female grandmasters are battling it out this month for the right to challenge Chinese women's world champ GM Ju Wenjun later this year.

June 4, 2019
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before voting in the Knesset, Israel's parliament in Jerusalem, Wednesday, May 29, 2019. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faced a deadline at midnight Wednesday to form a new governing coalition as he tried to stave off a crisis that could trigger an unprecedented second election this year or even force the longtime leader to step down. (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner)

Netanyahu to face new election after failing to form coalition

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces the prospect of facing a national vote for the second time in a year after his efforts to create a new governing coalition broke down Thursday amid feuding by his right-wing negotiating partners.

May 29, 2019