The UT Dallas Chess Team is off to a promising start  of the 2011 season after one of its star players won the Southwest Open.

Julio Sadorra

Julio Sadorra achieved his Grandmaster ranking three months ago.

Julio Sadorra, a business administration junior, took first place at the tournament, held in Dallas over the Labor Day weekend. Sadorra’s victory comes only three months after he achieved a Grandmaster title, the highest chess ranking possible.

“The team got off to a very good start with a win from Julio. We will take that as an omen for another great season,” said Jim Stallings, director of the chess program

Sadorra won five games and drew two. He faced Patrycja Labedz, a fellow UT Dallas player, in the last round. Labedz, a Woman FIDE Master (WFM), lost her first game of the tournament, but won five consecutive games – including two against Grandmasters – to face Sadorra.

Patrycja Labedz

Patrycja Labedz won two games against Grandmasters before facing Sadorra in the final round.

Labedz tied for second place with a group of her UT Dallas team members including GM Valentin Yotov, International Master (IM) Conrad Holt, IM Milos Pavlovic, FIDE Master (FM) Tyler Hughes and IM Puchen Wang.

“Collectively, our team performed well as most of our players occupied top spots. Though it was an individual tournament, I saw each one of us playing as a team,” said Sadorra.

With a total of 175 players, including five GMs and six IMs, this year’s Southwest Open was the biggest in 20 years. The event took place at the Sheraton Dallas North Hotel in Dallas. Go here to see the final standings from the tournament.