Pinoy GM Sadorra captures Southwest Open title

FILIPINO Grandmaster (GM) Julio Sadorra topped the 77th Annual Southwest Open Chess Championships held last Sept. 2 to 5 at the Sheraton Dallas North Hotel in Dallas, Texas.

The 26-year-old Sadorra, a sophomore student taking up Applied Math at the University of Texas-Dallas, finished the tournament undefeated with five wins and two draws for a total of 6.0 points.

Sadorra, playing under the banner of the National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP), took home $1,000.

Russian Valentin Votov placed second with a superior tie break score against fellow 5.0 pointers Conrad Holt, Denes Boros, Milos Pavlovic, Andre Diamant, Puchen Wang, Patrycja Labedz and Tyler Hughes. /Correspondent MARLON BERNARDINO