David R. Sands

Iranian minister mocks Trump, calls Saudi statement ‘shameful’

Iran's foreign minister denounced as "shameful" President Trump's statement saying the U.S. will maintain ties with Saudi Arabia despite the international furor over Riyadh's role in the killing of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

November 20, 2018

Draw play: Carlsen, Caruana struggle for a breakthrough in knotted chess title fight

Chess fans these days are sounding like those soccer aficionados who try to tell us those 0-0 ties are actually gripping entertainment.

November 20, 2018

Fabiano Caruana just misses win against champ in world chess title fight

American challenger Fabiano Caruana pressed hard but came up just short as his title match with world chess champion Magnus Carlsen as Norway saw its sixth draw in the first six games Friday in London.

November 16, 2018

Novel opening produces another draw in Carlsen-Caruana world chess match

Game 5 of the chess world championship match in London between titleholder Magnus Carlsen of Norway and American challenger Fabiano Caruana took a highly offbeat path in the opening, but the result was yet another draw in a 12-game match that has yet to produce a decisive result.

November 15, 2018

Taut battles but no breakthroughs as Carlsen-Caruana title match kicks off

Three games, three draws in the scheduled 12-game world championship match in London between champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway and American challenger Fabiano Caruana, but it hasn't exactly been dull as the two prepare for Tuesday's Game 4.

November 13, 2018

Third draw in world chess title match as Magnus Carlsen presses Fabiano Caruana again

It's three draws in three games to open the world chess championship title match in London, as world champ Magnus Carlsen of Norway pressed once again with the Black pieces Monday but could not break through against American challenger Fabiano Caruana.

November 12, 2018

Amnesty International strips Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi of award

The human rights groups Amnesty International announced Monday it was rescinding its highest honor given a decade ago to Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi, citing her role in the government's pressure campaign against hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslim residents.

November 12, 2018

U.S. challenger Caruana saves draw in epic first game of chess title match

World chess champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway pressed hard but could not crack the defenses of American challenger Fabiano Caruana, agreeing to a draw after a hard-fought 115 moves in the first game of their scheduled 12-game title match in London Friday.

November 9, 2018

Pompeo abruptly cancels meeting with North Korean diplomat over nukes

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has postponed without explanation a planned meeting with a top North Korean official in New York Thursday meant to pump new momentum into talks over Pyongyang's nuclear arsenal.

November 7, 2018

James Carville: Democratic wave ‘dissipating’

Longtime Democratic strategist James Carville said early results from Tuesday's midterm elections suggest the vaunted blue Democratic wave is not materializing.

November 6, 2018

Chess title match offers window on the state of the game

One can always hope, but don't look for nail-biting, scintillating chess when world champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway and American challenger Fabiano Caruana sit down Nov. 9 for the first game of their 12-game match in London.

November 6, 2018

Knute Buehler seeks to model Oregon campaign after blue state Republican governors

The vaunted blue wave is doing no favors for perhaps the nation's bluest governor this election cycle, as Oregon Democratic Gov. Kate Brown faces an unexpectedly persistent challenge from Republican state legislator Knute Buehler as she seeks her first full term in office in Tuesday's vote.

November 1, 2018

Libertarian drops out, backs Tester’s opponent in tight Montana Senate race

A Libertarian Party candidate who threatened to be a spoiler in Montana's razor-close Senate race has pulled out of the race and endorsed Republican challenger Matt Rosendale over embattled Democratic incumbent Sen. Jon Tester.

October 31, 2018

U.S. great hope Fabiano Caruana preps for clash with Magnus Carlsen

GM Fabiano Caruana has a chance to match another phenom out of Brooklyn, Bobby Fischer, as he prepares to take on world champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway in a 12-game title match in London.

October 30, 2018

Saudi crown prince breaks silence, condemns ‘heinous’ killing of Khashoggi

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman broke a long silence on the suspected murder of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the hands of Saudi government agents, denouncing what he called a "heinous crime" but saying nothing of whether he had any role in or knowledge of the plot.

October 24, 2018

Operatic struggle offers chess on a grand scale

Even chess columnists have their biases. Oh, we try to be rigorously objective, favoring neither Black nor White, but we have a clear preference for a certain kind of game -- the flashy, shortish blowout, the stunning sacrifice, the combination that ends in a satisfying (and easily analyzable) checkmate.

October 23, 2018

Russia sticking with Saudis amid boycotts over Khashoggi murder

Russia is one country that is not letting the international furor over the fate of dissident Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi disrupt its ties with the oil-rich kingdom.

October 23, 2018

Jon Tester-Donald Trump feud over Ronny Jackson simmers in Montana rally

President Trump rekindled a simmering feud with Sen. Jon Tester, traveling to the senator's home state of Montana yet again Thursday evening to denounce the two-term Democrat's role in blocking his choice to head the Veterans Administration earlier this year.

October 18, 2018

Jon Tester-Matt Rosendale Montana Senate race highlights Trump anger over Ronny Jackson

A messy, partisan Senate confirmation fight may play the deciding role in Montana's too-close-to-call U.S. Senate race, but it may not be the fight that first comes to mind.

October 17, 2018

IMF’s Christine Lagarde latest to cancel on Saudi conference amid Khashoggi furor

International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde is the latest high-profile figure in the financial world to scrub a planned appearance at a major investment conference in Saudi Arabia, in the wake of the growing furor over the fate of critical Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.