Julio Sadorra

Julio Catalino Sadorra (1986-) is a Filipino chess grandmaster. In 2009, Sadorra moved to the United States to pursue an education. He attended the University of Texas at Dallas on a chess scholarship, where he was a member of the team that twice reached the Final Four.  He graduated in 2013 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration, and during his studies was awarded the title of Grandmaster.

Rose Atwell

Should Chess International Master Rose Atwell Attend College?

In an interview with National Master Ben Johnson on the Perpetual Chess Podcast, IM Rose Atwell said, “The way I think about college is like, what’s in it for me?” More 🡢
UTD

Titas Stremavicius eliminated Wesley So from Chess World Cup

Grandmaster (GM) Titas Stremavicius (Lithuania) eliminated GM Wesley So (USA), one of the top 10 players in the world, from the FIDE World Cup 2025. In their first game, Stremavicius, an alumnus of The University of Texas at Dallas (UTD), had drawn as Black. As White on November 5, 2025, he had a time advantage in a complicated endgame. With less than a minute and a half left on his clock, So resigned. Stremavicius moved on to round 3 of the World Cup. More 🡢
Chess and car crashes

Car Accidents and Chess

Driving to the second day of the Texas State Women’s Championship, I was in a car accident. I was fine; my car was damaged. I let the organizer know that I would be late. The director paused my clock, and my opponent patiently waited for me. I won that game, but lost my second game, which was the last round. In this article, I discuss the championship, car accidents, and chess. More 🡢
Chess question from a celebrity fitness trainer

Chess question from a celebrity fitness trainer

How do you not get better at chess, asked celebrity trainer Vinnie Tortorich. His podcast guest, US Chess Senior Director of Strategic Communication Dan Lucas, had said that he had reached his rating ceiling. Tortorich refused to believe that Lucas was not improving at chess, since Lucas’ job immerses him in the game. Also in this article are two positions from a Mechanics’ Institute Twitch broadcast. More 🡢
College Chess Coaches

Chess Respect

As reported by FIDE, former US Chess President Don Schultz died on April 19, 2020. Although I saw Schultz at several chess events, I spent the most time with him during the 1991 U.S. Women’s Chess Championship. The US Chess Federation had asked Schultz to organize the tournament when another bid for it fell through. More 🡢
Pep Rally March 28 at UT Dallas

Final Four of College Chess – and YOU could be a Winner!

New year, new contest! Read on for which colleges are competing in the 2019 Final Four, coming up April 6-7 at the Marshall Chess Club in New York City. Predict the winner and the order in which the four teams finish to win a SparkChess Premium Live Membership. More 🡢
UT Dallas chess team

Six Degrees of Separation and One Day More at the World Chess Championship

The recent World Chess Championship made me think of two iconic phrases. The first phrase is “six degrees of separation,” which states that a chain of “friend of a friend” statements can be made to connect any two people in six steps. In this article, I’ll share my two-step connections to the challenger, Fabiano Caruana, and to former World Chess Champion Bobby Fischer. The second phrase is “One Day More,” which is both a song lyric and a song title from the musical Les Misérables. More 🡢