David R. Sands
Articles by David R. Sands
COVID-19 hero ‘Captain Tom’ Moore dies at age 100
Captain Tom Moore, the British World War II veteran whose jaunty walk in his backyard last year made him an internet sensation and a prodigious fundraiser in the fight against COVID-19, has passed away in London's Bedford Hospital at the age of 100, less than two weeks after he himself was diagnosed with the coronavirus. Published February 2, 2021
Aung San Suu Kyi detained in Myanmar coup: Report
The Myanmar military has reportedly detained Aung San Suu Kyi and other members of her ruling National League for Democracy party in a coup attempt that climaxes rising tension between the military and the civilian government of the former Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Published January 31, 2021
Britain seeks to join Asian trade pact that Trump rejected
The United Kingdom announced plans to apply for membership in a Pacific Rim free-trade pact that former President Donald Trump rejected for the U.S. Published January 31, 2021
Kelly Riddell Sadler, Tom Basile join Washington Times Commentary section
Kelly Riddell Sadler, a Washington Times alumna, nationally known communications specialist and a member of President Trump's early media outreach team, is returning to The Times as editor of the paper's award-winning Commentary section. Published January 28, 2021
COVID-19 vaccines to goose global growth in 2021, IMF predicts
The global economy, devastated in 2020 by shutdowns related to the coronavirus pandemic, is poised to make a major recovery this year as vaccines to control its spread reach the market, the International Monetary Fund said in its latest forecast released Tuesday morning. Published January 26, 2021
Lubomir Kavalek, Czech chess great, a role model and a rival, was a local hero
This columnist lost a role model and a rival this month, and the local chess scene lost one of the greatest players ever to call the Washington area his home. Published January 26, 2021
Joe Biden administration faces early tests from China, Russia
America's main international rivals have wasted no time in testing the resolve of the Biden administration to defend U.S. allies and values. Published January 24, 2021
Russia to Biden: Butt out over protests
The Kremlin reacted angrily Sunday to U.S. criticisms of its handling of nationwide protests against President Vladimir Putin, protests which so far have led to at least 3,500 detentions across the country. Published January 24, 2021
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin speaks with counterparts in South Korea, Japan
Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin spoke by phone over the weekend with his counterparts from South Korea and Japan, longtime allies who will be key to the U.S. path ahead in dealing with China and North Korea. Published January 24, 2021
Twitter says Iran leader’s tweet threatening Trump’s death was a fake account
Twitter has suspended an account purportedly linked to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that featured an image showing a Donald Trump-like figure on a golf course apparently being targeted by a missile strike, saying it believed the account was a fake. Published January 22, 2021
Lloyd Austin approved by Senate as first Black secretary of defense
The Senate Friday overwhelmingly approved former Gen. Lloyd Austin as secretary of defense, giving President Biden a key member for his national security team. The final vote was 93-2. Published January 22, 2021
Russia welcomes Biden missile treaty offer — with reservations
The top spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday welcomed -- with reservations -- the new Biden administration's offer to extend the expiring New START arms control deal for another five years. Published January 22, 2021
The best make a welcome return to the chessboard
After a troubled year of cancellations, disruptions and migrations to online play, the chess world is starting 2021 on a refreshing note of normalcy -- an actual over-the-board elite tournament played at classical time controls in one of the great traditional venues for the game. Published January 20, 2021
Zugzwecklos: When you have chess moves, but it doesn’t matter
Beginning chess students are quickly introduced to the remarkable concept of "zugzwang" -- German for "It's your move, pal" -- in which a player's position may be perfectly fine as is, but any move makes things worse, and may even lose. Unfortunately under the rules, passing is not allowed when it's your clock that is ticking. Published January 12, 2021
Canada’s Justin Trudeau calls out Donald Trump over U.S. Capitol clash
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau dropped the diplomatic niceties Friday and said President Trump and his supporters were directly responsible for the clashes in the halls of the U.S. Capitol this week attempting to block the ratification of the 2020 U.S. presidential vote. Published January 8, 2021
Daniil Dubov’s games rank as must-see chess
He didn't win the tournament, but Russian GM Daniil Dubov's performance at the just-concluded Airthings Masters online tournament may have cemented his reputation as the one grandmaster whose games are must-watch viewing. Published January 5, 2021
TurkStream, Russia pipeline bypassing Ukraine, advances
A major new Russian pipeline designed to bypass Ukraine to supply southeastern Europe got a major symbolic boost on New Year's Day as Serbian President Alexandar Vucic officially proclaimed the first nearly 250 miles of the Balkan Stream natural gas pipeline to be open for business. Published January 1, 2021
On a locked-down New Year’s Eve, Pyongyang parties
While many of the world's great cities were eerily quiet on a New Year's Eve clouded by the COVID-19 pandemic, North Koreans partied on. Published January 1, 2021
Rising U.S. chess stars bring home the hardware at world junior tourney
There are still a couple of days left to turn things around, but the consensus seems to be building that 2020 will not go down as a banner year. Chess was not exactly spared: tournaments big and little scrubbed for the first in decades, top players -- including both the U.S. and U.S. women's national champs this year -- surviving nasty brushes with COVID-19. Published December 29, 2020
Pressure-cooker chess yields some savory results
When it's your game and your clock ticking and your rating points on the line, even a Friday night ladder pairing at the local club can be a highly stressful exercise. Put some higher stakes on the table -- say, oh, the last available slot for next year's U.S. championship field -- and things really start to get interesting. Published December 22, 2020
