INQUIRER Sports

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA---International Masters Roland Salvador and Virgilio Vuelban made the country proud anew by winning the recent Circolo Bertellini Salsomaggiore International Open Chess in Italy, over the weekend

Salvador and Vuelban beat their last round foes to end up tied from first to third spots with Serbia's GM Miroljub Lazic with 5.0 points in six rounds of play.

Lazic beat Italian IM Paolo Vezzosi, Salvador bested Croatian IM Milan Mrdja while Vuelban defeated Italian FM Marco Corvi. After the tie break was applied, Salvador took the champion?s trophy, Vuelban finished second with Lazic in third.

Meanwhile, in the US Chess Championship in Missouri, lone Filipino IM Enrico ?Ikong? Sevillano lost his last two games against IM Ray Robson and GM Larry Christiansen, last Sunday and failed to nail his GM norm.

The Cebu-native Sevillano, a protegee of sportsman/ NM Matias ?Bombi? Aznar Jr., tied for 16th to 19th places with GM Julio Becerra and IMs Michael Brooks and Tyler Hughes with 4.0 points each good for $2,375.

GM Hikaru Nakamura outplayed Brooks to clinch the title and the top prize of $40,000 with 7.0 points.

IM Robert Hess and GM Alexander Onischuk settled for second and third spots with 6.5 points apiece good for $12,500 each.