Young American Chess Star: Josh Colas

JOSHUA COLAS

AGE: 16
HOMETOWN: White Plains, NY
EDUCATION: White Plains High School

It takes a real chess master to be able to win a game without even looking at the board. That type of achievement takes a talent that Joshua Colas mastered at a young age. On top of that, at 12 years old, Colas became the youngest black chess master in history.

“My dad is really passionate about chess and he passed on this appetite to me when he first taught me the game at 7 years old,” he said on his Indiegogo campaign page. “The days when my dad could beat me in a game are far gone and that’s what he wanted. Now, the next step is for me to accomplish my goal of becoming the youngest African-American chess grandmaster in history.”

As of February, the U.S. Chess Federation ranks him No. 201 out of 57,000 players of all ages. For five straight years, Colas was selected to represent Team USA at the World Youth Chess Championships in Greece, Brazil, Slovenia, United Arab Emirates and South Africa. This year, Colas plans to play at the Chicago Open, World Open, D.C. International, U.S. Master Championship and several other tournaments.

In 2014, state Sen. Andrea Stewart-Cousins honored Colas on the New York Senate floor for his outstanding achievements in chess. And colleges have taken notice of his talents, too. Webster University in St. Louis and the University of Maryland have already offered full-tuition scholarships.

When he’s not dominating his latest opponent, he also loves to play the piano, basketball and video games. He’s a fan of Drake and says he sometimes listens to his music before a big match.