Nicolas de T. Checa (born December 19, 2001) is an American chess player who holds the FIDE title of Grandmaster (GM).
He is the recipient of the 2020 and 2021 Samford Fellowships, an award granted to the top American chess players under 25 years old.
Checa is the youngest Annual New York State Champion since the official championship started in 1878, a record that he achieved as an 11-year-old in 2013 and still holds.
[3] Although he finished tied for second in the 2013 tournament behind Alexander Ivanov, only New York residents are eligible for the title of state champion.
[6] In 2017, he also became the Marshall Chess Club champion after beating Grandmaster Sergei Azarov in a blitz match playoff.