David R. Sands

Raised in Northern Virginia, David R. Sands received an undergraduate degree from the University of Virginia and a master's degree from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. He worked as a reporter for several Washington-area business publications before joining The Washington Times.

At The Times, Mr. Sands has covered numerous beats, including international trade, banking, politics and Capitol Hill, and spent eight years on the foreign desk as senior diplomatic correspondent. He is currently the deputy editor for politics. In addition, he has reviewed books and written feature stories for the newspaper and authored The Times' weekly chess column since 1993. He is also senior writer for Washington GolfStyles, a monthly publication covering the Mid-Atlantic golf scene.

Articles by David R. Sands

DAVID R. SANDS: In a month made for madness, chess as a force for sanity

March is the month of madness -- a good thing if you're a college basketball fan but a more sensitive topic if your game is chess. Published March 22, 2016

DAVID R. SANDS: Hou’s on first (again) — Chinese star reclaims women’s world chess title

Leaving little doubt that she is the dominant female player of our time, Chinese GM Hou Yifan easily reclaimed her women's world crown with a Game 9 victory over Ukrainian GM Mariya Muzychuk in Lvov, Ukraine on Monday. Published March 15, 2016

Putin orders surprise start of Russian military withdrawal from Syria

Claiming that his military escalation has achieved its goals, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday he had begun the withdrawal of Russian forces from the country even as the Syrian civil war continues to rage. Published March 14, 2016

DAVID R. SANDS: A chess challenger and a champion to be picked in busy March

March will be a productive month on the world chess calendar, with a champion and a challenger to be crowned in the next few weeks. Published March 8, 2016

Russian firm vows to fight to keep U.S. rocket monopoly

Even as the U.S. military pushes to end the country's reliance of Russian-built rocket engines to get its satellites into space, the Moscow-based manufacturer says it is still hopeful to hold onto its American clients. Published March 3, 2016

China wearies of oddball architecture

Chinese officials are done with being the world's Petri dish for growing avant-garde, weird-looking buildings. Published March 3, 2016

DAVID R. SANDS: Magnus Carlsen, world chess champion, to defend his title in New York City match

The chess world championship will be coming back to the United States for the first time in more than two decades. Officials of the international chess federation FIDE announced Tuesday that Norwegian world champion Magnus Carlsen will defend his title in a 12-game match to be played in New York City from Nov. 11 to Nov. 30. Published March 2, 2016

Global tensions send Russian vodka exports plummeting 40 percent

Clashes with the West over Ukraine and Syria are hitting home for the Russian economy, as foreign markets for its signature spirit, vodka, fell sharply in 2015. Published February 23, 2016

DAVID R. SANDS: The uneasy chess coupling of correspondence and computers

For one who has played and enjoyed correspondence chess dating back to the pre-Deep Blue era, writing about the latest chess-by-mail world championship is a melancholy business. Published February 23, 2016

Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus wins EU concessions despite ‘dismal’ human rights record

European Union foreign ministers this week quietly ended a range of sanctions targeting the regime of longtime Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko and some of the former Soviet republic's largest state-owned firms, despite protests from human rights groups both in Belarus and the West. Published February 17, 2016

Obama stars as poster child for Russian anti-smoking ads

An image of President Obama enjoying a last long drag on a cigarette is being used in a new campaign in Moscow to encourage Russians to give up smoking. The message: Both tobacco and the American president can kill you. Published February 16, 2016

DAVID R. SANDS: A chess wrap-up of action from A(nand) to Z(hao)

With some of the world's top male and female players in action this week, we have the chess world covered this week from A (Anand-Aronian) to Z (Zhao-Zhukova). Published February 16, 2016

Antonin Scalia, Supreme Court justice: ‘His contributions to the law are incalculable’

Tom Goldstein, editor of the popular Scotusblog website that tracks the Supreme Court, called Justice Antonin Scalia a "historic figure, surely one of the most influential minds -- on and off the court -- of the last century." Published February 13, 2016

DAVID R. SANDS: A Valentine’s Day over-the-board mating match — times three — for chess lovers

It doesn't help to know the doorman at Club 5000, the exclusive venue where love and chess meet. Published February 9, 2016

DAVID R. SANDS: After a long siege, the Berlin Wall starts to come down

Norwegian world champ Magnus Carlsen captured his fifth Tata Steel Masters title, winning the year's first strong event at the Dutch seaside town of Wijk aan Zee with an undefeated 9-4 score, a full point clear of American GM Fabiano Caruana and China's Ding Liren. Published February 2, 2016

Iran hard-liners reject middle path, disqualify moderate candidates

For the second time in less than a week, Iran's theocratic leaders have disqualified a slew of moderate candidates from the race for a key governing body, ruling that even the grandson of Iranian revolutionary hero Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini was too ideologically suspect to run for office. Published January 26, 2016

DAVID R. SANDS: Magnus Carlsen takes risks to rise to chess top at Wijk

The champ isn't resting on his laurels. Unlike some of his illustrious predecessors, world titleholder Magnus Carlsen isn't afraid to mix it up with his rivals, maintaining an active tournament schedule -- and risking the occasional embarrassing loss -- since he first won the crown in November 2013. Published January 26, 2016

DAVID R. SANDS: Promising Russian chess star Ivan Bukavshin dies of stroke at 20

A.E. Housman's sad lines accompany the sad news out of Russia that talented young GM Ivan Bukavshin has died suddenly of a stroke, still four months shy of his 21st victory. Published January 19, 2016

Iran welcomes business rush as sanctions are lifted

Literally hours after the ink had dried on the accord lifting international economic sanctions on Iran, big-name companies across Europe and Asia were signing deals, major world leaders were booking trade missions to Tehran, idled oil fields were being ordered back online, and Iran's financial authorities had processed applications for some 1,000 letters of credit from businesses hoping to cut deals in the near future. Published January 18, 2016

DAVID R. SANDS: Lasting legacy of Paul Keres, the ‘crown prince of chess’

One hundred years after his birth, he still ranks near the top of any list of the greatest players never to have won the world championship. Published January 13, 2016

LISTEN: Inside NATO’s planning for future war Pierre Vandier joins Threat Status

Bold and Blunt: War, peace and the game-changers in Israel Gol Kalev joins Cheryl Chumley

Washington Times Weekly: Middle East mediators Vaughn Cockayne with George Gerbo