Josh Colas on ‘The Scoop’
Josh Colas had an interview with Jennifer Shahade and “Chess Scoop” where he talked about his progress as a player. Back in December, Josh broke the age record for a Black player reaching National Master. That record has been held broken several of times since Walter Harris (pictured right) was the first Black player to every reach that ranking. Harris was about 17 or 18 when he became master in the late 50s or early 60s.
Several players have become Master at varying ages, but Howard Daniels of Vaux lowered the record to 15 years, 4 months. Since then the record has been broken by K.K. Karanja, Dr. Woody McClelland, Kassa Korley, Justus Williams and now Josh. The 12-year old All-American chess player said in the interview that he had worked hard and is proud of the record. Below is the interview.
You’ll reach your goal of GM , Josh. Keep playing and stay focused and before you know it you will have the title.
Quentin
Thanks Quentin. Daaim mentioned that getting the last 100 pts to reach NM is not easy, is not an exaggeration. On the other hand, I realize that to get to the next level, Josh will have to play less and increase his study.
Good point, Guy. I am in the 1800 area and I just started studying the endgame more. I used to just play regular and blitz and figured the points would just jump at me, LOL, but studying is helping me play a little better. Maybe one day I can end up one of Josh “victims”. LOL.
Quentin
Studying endgames are key. It opens your knowledge into an entirely different realm and gives a player a lot more confidence. My appreciation for chess increased dramatically when I read the Encyclopedia of Chess Endings by Speelman, Tisdall and Wade.