Latest Chess 960 champ hopes to follow Wesley So's footsteps 

MANILA, Philippines – Chess 960, or Fischer-Random, has produced a world champion in Cavite-born Wesley So. There is hope that someday another Filipino will accomplish the same feat.

And FIDE Master Sander Severino is one of the local chessers trying to reach for the stars after he emerged champion of the first national tournament organized for the said event dubbed the Cesar Orbe Memorial Chess 960 done online over the weekend.

And the 34-year-old Severino, who was diagnosed with a muscle dystrophy at a young age that bound him to a wheelchair for life, did it by threading through the proverbial eye of the needle.

The Silay City, Negros Occidental native had to top the fifth and final leg by scoring 9.5 points, catapulting him to first overall with 13 points, or a point ahead of first and third leg winner Grandmaster Joey Antonio with 12 points.

GM Darwin Laylo, the fourth leg titlist and second to Severino in the fifth leg, finished third overall with 11.

“If a Filipino like Wesley So can be world champion, I think another Filipino can. I dream of becoming like him (So),” said Severino in Filipino.

It was another title for Severino, a multiple ASEAN and Asian Para Games gold medalist who topped the Chooks-to-Go tournament last January and a Rising Phoenix Arena edition early this month.