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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

Moon Jae-in, South Korea president, calls emergency meeting after Donald Trump cancels Kim summit

Apparently blindsided by President Trump's decision to cancel next month's summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, South Korean President Moon Jae-in convened an emergency meeting of his top security officials in Seoul Thursday night to discuss what happens next.

May 24, 2018

Pompeo: North Korea shut off talks on prepping for Trump-Kim summit

North Korea shut down bilateral contacts to prepare for the proposed summit between President Trump Kim Jong-un several days before Mr. Trump on Thursday abruptly called off the planned June 12 meeting in Singapore, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told a congressional hearing.

May 24, 2018

Britain gets a princess, but chess has a new queen

Britain, as you may have heard, has a new princess. But chess has a new queen.

May 22, 2018

Indian minister makes first visit to North Korea in decades

In a sign other countries are rushing into the diplomatic breach opened by the U.S.-North Korea rapprochement, a top Indian diplomat is making the first trip by a senior Indian official to Pyongyang in two decades.

May 17, 2018

Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on track for big congressional majority in Mexico vote

Leftist candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has opened up such a wide lead ahead of July 1's Mexican presidential vote that his coattails could give his party a working congressional majority as well, according to a new polling analysis released this week.

May 16, 2018

A feisty, fun-filled fight for the women’s world chess title

If you crave feisty, frantic, fun-filled world championship-caliber chess, the women have the men beat by a mile.

May 15, 2018

Kuwait continues Iran straddle after Trump decision

Kuwait, the one Persian Gulf Arab nation that has tried to maintain relations with Iran, is continuing its diplomatic straddle a day after President Trump announced the U.S. was pulling out of the 2015 nuclear accord with Tehran.

May 9, 2018

Pompeo in second secret trip to North Korea to prepare Trump-Kim summit

New Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is making an unannounced trip to North Korea for more discussions ahead of a planned summit between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, Mr. Trump announced at the White House Tuesday.

May 8, 2018

Opening statement — a chess struggle in Black and White

Good offense, as a wise man once observed, always beats good defense -- and vice versa.

May 8, 2018

Russia eyes closer Iran ties, more trade if Trump nixes nuclear deal

A top Russian official said bilateral relations and trade with Iran could actually be enhanced if President Trump follows through on a threat to take the United States out of the 2015 nuclear deal with Tehran next week.

May 4, 2018

Samuel Shankland surprises, Nazi Paikidze repeats at U.S. chess championships

He's been overshadowed by the U.S. "Big Three" and can hear the footsteps of a rising generation of American grandmasters eager to claim their place in the pecking order.

May 1, 2018

France argues Israeli evidence bolsters argument for Iran nuclear deal

The French government said Tuesday that its preliminary review of blockbuster new evidence of Iran's nuclear ambitions released by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu actually provides another argument for keeping the 2015 nuclear deal with Tehran in place.

May 1, 2018

Mike Pompeo confirmed as secretary of state

The Senate on Thursday approved former CIA Director Mike Pompeo to be the nation's next secretary of state, overcoming heavy resistance once again from Democrats to a top Trump nominee.

April 26, 2018

From U.S. title fight, showing the utility of mobility in chess

From Hannibal on down, the great military strategists have appreciated the utility of mobility. It's no less true of chess, a game of war par excellence where the two commanders start out with a perfect equilibrium of forces.

April 24, 2018

Vladimir Putin signs law banning internet ‘libel’ of public figures

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a hastily passed new law that would give the government the power to shut down websites accused of libeling or publishing defamatory information on public figures.

April 24, 2018

Rand Paul to support Mike Pompeo as Secretary of State

Senate panel voted to recommend Mike Pompeo as secretary of state, sending nomination to full Senate.

April 23, 2018

Russian firm markets ‘Novichok’ cooking oil named after nerve gas used on spy

A Russian business is bringing out a new line of "Novichok" cooking oil, in a cheeky reference to the Soviet-era nerve gas blamed for poisoning an ex-Russian spy living in England last month.

April 20, 2018

Trump said ready to kill Iran nuclear deal

President Trump is poised to pull the U.S. out of the Iran nuclear deal next month, with only a last-minute flurry of appeals from European leaders offering a chance of a change of course, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker said Wednesday.

April 18, 2018

Bob Corker won’t campaign against Democrat in Tennessee Senate race

Retiring GOP Sen. Bob Corker had some unusually warm words for the Democrat running for his job in November, saying Wednesday he would not campaign against former Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen this fall.