Julio Sadorra
Conrad Holt
At the Hilton Hobby Airport Hotel in Houston this past weekend, UT Dallas Grandmaster (GM) Julio Sadorra finished with a 4-1 score as the co-winner in the master class of the U.S. Class Championship.
“Sadorra is playing more solid now, so I have big expectations for him at team tournaments like the Pan-American and the Final Four,” said Rade Milovanovic, the chess team coach.
Sadorra wasn’t the only successful UT Dallas team member at the tournament, however.
Artur Safin and International Master (IM) Milos Pavlovic also had strong showings in the final round.
IM Conrad Holt, a freshman team member, won the blitz (speed chess) tournament with eight straight wins.
“I am very happy with the performance from Conrad Holt, we have great expectations for our International Master from Kansas,” said Jim Stallings, the chess program director.
A total of 243 participants entered the main event, including four GMs, seven IMs, two Women Grandmasters, and four FIDE Masters, making this year’s tournament the largest U.S. Class Championship yet.