FM Colas earns 3rd and final IM norm!

Colas showing final position against GM Vladimir Georgiev.
Photo by Jon Winick.

FM Josh Colas has been on a mission to reach his goal as a Grandmaster of chess. He took another step over the weekend in earning his 3rd IM norm at the Clark Street GM Invitational in Chicago. He ended up with 5/9 against a tough field including Israeli GM Ilya Smirin. The event was organized by the Chicago Chess Center, held at the Avant Incorporated and sponsored by Clark Street Capital.

Colas came from St. Louis during the tail end of a successful freshman year at Webster University. He has thrived in the environment and is buoyed by his friend IM-Elect Justus Williams, who earned his final IM norm recently. Colas took a bad loss in the first round after failing miserably against Smirin’s preparation. He went undefeated in next four rounds beating GM Alexander Fishbein in the 5th. After two losses, he needed 1.5/2 for the norm, drew GM Priyadh Kannappan and proceeded to demolish GM Vladimir Georgiev in 23 moves.

Colas still needs to earn a 2400 FIDE rating to get his title conferred.

FM Josh Colas (2323-USA)
#	Player	ELO	Nation	Flag	Result
1	GM Ilya Smirin	2671	Israel		0
2	Aaskaash Meduri	2042	USA		1
3	FM David Peng	2270	USA		½
4	CM Jacob Furfine	2163	USA		1
5	GM Alexander Fishbein	2481	USA		1
6	IM Pavlo Vorontsov	2499	Ukraine		0
7	GM Akshat Chandra	2502	USA		0
8	GM Priyadharshan Kannappan	2530	India		½
9	GM Vladimir Georgiev	2530	Macedonia		1
Score: 5-4 (IM NORM)

Chicago Chess Center: https://www.chichess.org/
Clark Street Capital: https://clarkstcapital.com/
Avant Inc.: https://www.avant.com/

Avant, Inc., is a Chicago-based company in the financial technology industry. Avant is built from a team of passionate Chicagoans looking to lower the costs and barriers of lending for consumers. In 2015, Avant was named #6 to Forbes America’s Most Promising Companies.

Clark Street Capital is a full-service bank advisory and asset disposition firm specializing in loan sales, loan due diligence and valuation, and wholesale lending. Managed by seasoned professionals with extensive “buy-side” experience, Clark Street Capital offers intrinsic knowledge and expertise on a wide range of assets from bank portfolio loans to securitized assets.