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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

Lombardy-Polugaevsky after 31…Rxc6.

DAVID R. SANDS: Bobby Fischer’s priestly second shines in new biopic

The Bobby Fischer biopic "Pawn Sacrifice," which we wrote about here last week, offers another extra kick for the serious chess fan, giving the full Hollywood treatment to one of the American game's most interesting and underappreciated players — William Lombardy, who was Bobby's sorely tried second in the 1972 title match with Spassky in Reykjavik.

October 20, 2015
Holt-Le after 27. Nd5.

DAVID R. SANDS: Chess in the dark — should we accept ‘Pawn Sacrifice’?

Watching the new Bobby Fischer movie "Pawn Sacrifice" as a professional writer on chess is an interesting experience. While the rest of the audience was focused on whether Fischer (played by Tobey Maguire) could overcome his personal demons and persecution complex to achieve his dream of greatness, I was far more moved when Fischer was considering whether to take that poisoned pawn with his bishop in the famous Game 1 of his 1972 title match with Boris Spassky.

October 13, 2015
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton arrives at a rally Monday, Oct. 12, 2015, in Las Vegas, held by the Culinary Union to support a union drive at the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Asian investors fret over ‘Hillary risk’

She's having enough trouble trying to calm nervous Democrats about the state of her 2016 presidential bid, but now front-runner Hillary Clinton has another constituency that needs reassurance -- Asian financial markets.

October 13, 2015
Cyprus' president Nicos Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci shake hands after a meeting at U.N. buffer zone at Ledra Palace Hotel in divided capital Nicosia, Cyprus in September. The heads of Cyprus' Christian and Muslim communities are meeting with the ethnically divided island's rival leaders to lend their support to ongoing reunification talks. (Associated Press)

Cyprus inches towards reunification

It ranks among the world's oldest frozen conflicts, but an "unusual alignment of the stars" is raising new hopes that Cyprus may soon be on the road to reunification, the top diplomat of the divided island's Turkish Cypriot government said in an interview.

October 6, 2015
Russian President Vladimir Putin (center) listens to a question during a meeting with his supporters in Moscow on Sept. 7, 2015. Putin took part in a discussion on Monday of a health care reform with his supporters who form All-Russian People’s Front. (Mikhail Klimentyev/RIA-Novosti, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP) **FILE**

Kremlin: No plans for Putin, Obama to meet at U.N. gathering

He has Pope Francis on his schedule, but Russian President Vladimir Putin right now has no plans to meet with President Obama when he travels to New York later this month for the 70th anniversary of the founding of the U.N. General Assembly, the Russian leader's spokesman said Thursday.

September 10, 2015
Trader Eugene Mauro (right) works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Sept. 1, 2015. (Associated Press)

China woes send U.S. stock markets plummeting

Fresh economic data showing softness in the Chinese economy sent U.S. and global stocks plummeting Tuesday, with the blue-chip Dow Jones index of top stocks down some 469 points, or 2.84 percent, to 16,058, and the broader S&P 500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq market also posting losses of more than 2 percent for the day.

September 1, 2015