Joshua Colas

Last updated
Joshua Colas
Country United States
Born (1998-09-05) 5 September 1998 (age 25)
White Plains, New York
Title FIDE Master (2015)
Peak rating 2387 (April 2016)

Joshua Colas (born 5 September 1998) is an American chess player who holds the title of FIDE International Master (Elect).

Contents

Biography

He was once the youngest African American to become a US Chess Federation (USCF) National Master (NM), which he accomplished in 2010 at 12 years, 3 months, and 11 days old. [1] Colas was born to Haitian immigrants in White Plains, New York. He learned how to play chess from his father and entered his first national tournament at age seven. He was the US 7th grade national champion in 2010, 10th grade national champion in 2013, and 11th grade national champion in 2014. Colas became a FIDE Master in 2015. He has earned all three of the norms needed for the International Master (IM) title, and only needs to reach the FIDE rating threshold of 2400 to clinch the title. [2] Colas had his best tournament at the 2015 North American Open, where he earned one of his IM norms and also earned his first and only Grandmaster (GM) norm. During the tournament, he scored 6½/9 with a performance rating of 2667, having defeated two Grandmasters. [3] [4] [5] Colas attended Webster University alongside fellow African-American and New Yorker chess players James Black Jr. and Justus Williams, where he played on the chess team coached by GM Susan Polgar while on a full chess scholarship. [6] [7] [8] [9] [10]

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References

  1. Shabazz, Daaim (17 December 2010). "Record falls... Colas makes Master!". The Chess Drum. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
  2. Shabazz, Daaim (18 April 2017). "FM Colas earns 3rd and final IM norm!". The Chess Drum. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
  3. Shabazz, Daaim (31 December 2015). "Colas bags GM norm in Vegas!". The Chess Drum. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
  4. Kavutskiy, Kostya (31 December 2015). "Kamsky, Dreev, Nakar Win Norm-Heavy North American Open". Chess.com. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
  5. "Joshua Colas Standard Ratings February 2016". FIDE. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
  6. Shabazz, Daaim (1 February 2016). "Joshua Colas: His Journey So Far". US Chess. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
  7. "Youngest-ever African American chess master Joshua Colas to mentor Sunrise kids". Caribbean National Weekly. 13 March 2019. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
  8. Shabazz, Daaim (13 December 2010). "Josh Colas: 7th Grade National Champ!". The Chess Drum. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
  9. "Joshua Colas Career Highlights". Joshua Colas. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
  10. Jones, Maya (22 September 2016). "Chess Masters: These Young Black Men Ain't No Rook-ies". Andscape . Retrieved 21 October 2021.