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

Martial Gambit: Real-life warriors do battle at the chessboard

Chess, by and large, is a war game played by nonmartial people who would have trouble identifying the business end of an M16 or explaining the difference between an embrasure and a sally port. Published September 26, 2023

Schumer moves to stop Tuberville’s blockade of military nominees

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has lined up votes to advance the nominations of three top military officials who have been waiting to take their posts since Sen. Tommy Tuberville has been holding them up in a protest over Pentagon abortion policy. Published September 20, 2023

Marshall was a matchless chess champ — and not in a good way

A singular event in the annals of American chess took place exactly 100 years ago this year. And we don't mean "singular" in a good way. Published September 19, 2023

Eyeing endgame, Biden taps Obama vet Pritzker to oversee Ukraine rebuilding

President Biden has tapped a veteran of the Obama administration Cabinet and major Democratic Party donor to help promote the rebuilding of the Ukrainian economy, creating a new post to coordinate the reconstruction effort even as Ukraine battles to fight off a Russian invading force that still occupies a fifth of the country. Published September 14, 2023

Stars of the future shine in chess’s ancestral homeland

The recent FIDE World Cup in Baku, Azerbaijan, just confirmed what many have long predicted: India, the country with the longest history with our noble game, may also be the country with the brightest future. Published September 12, 2023

The king of chess gambits can still be a royal pain

It was the most popular opening for the first three centuries of modern chess. Paul Morphy relied on it heavily during his meteoric rise to world supremacy in the mid-19th century. Bobby Fischer claimed to have definitively refuted it after a famous loss with Black to nemesis Boris Spassky 12 years before their epic title match. Published September 5, 2023

Rising junior chess star Jason Wang impresses at 10th Washington International

Russian GM Mikhail Antipov and rising Ohio junior IM Jason Wang shared top honors at the 10th Washington International held earlier this month in Rockville, Maryland. The event reliably boasts among the strongest and most competitive fields on the DMV summer chess calendar. Published August 29, 2023

Titanic chess legal battle over cheating ends in an uneasy draw

The sensational cheating scandal that rocked elite chess has ended in a legal draw, one that might produce an uneasy truce between some of the game's best players and its most powerful commercial interests. Published August 28, 2023

Decorated, outspoken Ukrainian pilot ‘Juice’ dies in training crash, officials say

One of Ukraine's most celebrated and decorated fighter pilots, known by his call-sign "Juice," was among those killed over the weekend in an apparent training accident, the Ukrainian Air Force revealed Sunday. Published August 27, 2023

Virginia’s Fort Hill renamed to honor pioneering Union surgeon Mary Walker

Another Confederate general has been put out to pasture, this time replaced by a pioneering female surgeon who won a Medal of Honor for treating Union troops and was briefly a prisoner of war in the rebels' hands. Published August 27, 2023

Russia finally confirms that Prigozhin, Wagner Group execs were on doomed plane

The Tass news service reported that the Russian Investigative Committee confirmed through forensic identification the death of 62-year-old Yevgeny Prigozhin, a one-time confidant of President Vladimir Putin who staged an abortive mutiny in June. Published August 27, 2023

Three Marines killed, 20 wounded in Osprey crash during Australian exercises

Three U.S. Marines were killed and 20 others were injured when their MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor plane crashed off the coast of Australia while participating in multinational training exercises, the Marine Corps announced Sunday. Published August 27, 2023

At the chessboard: Carlsen’s close call, Matanovic’s giant impact

Former world champ Magnus Carlsen was this close to going home early, but held on and is one of eight players still in the hunt as the FIDE World Cup reached the quarterfinal stage in Baku, Azerbaijan, this week. Published August 15, 2023

Tang takes U.S. Open crown, books berth in U.S. championship chess tourney

Illinois GM Andrew Tang is the new U.S. Open champ, tying 2022 champ GM Alexey Sorokin at 8-1 in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on Monday and defeating the Russian GM in an Armageddon playoff game to claim the title. Published August 8, 2023

Bloc backs off on military action as Niger’s coup leaders remain defiant

A Sunday deadline by Niger's West African neighbors to intervene militarily if the recent army-led coup was not reversed appeared to pass without action even though the country's democratically elected president remains a prisoner of his generals in Niamey. Published August 6, 2023