Eventually Ashley would lead the Rooks to a total of two state championships and one national championship. In 1991, at the age of twenty-five, Ashley led the Rooks to victory in the National Junior High School Championships in Dearborn, Michigan. Ashley studied English in college, and in his free time coached the Raging Rooks chess team at Harlem’s Junior High School #43. Within two years, Ashley had become a National Master he also became the captain of the City College of New York’s chess team, which competed in the Pan-American Intercollegiate Championship in 1987. Ashley joined the Black Bear School of Chess, a local group of African American chess enthusiasts from Brooklyn, and by the time he graduated from high school in 1984, Ashley had determined to attain the highest possible chess player ranking of Grandmaster. During his high school years at Brooklyn Tech in the early 1980s, Ashley failed to make the chess team, but despite this setback, he resolved to compete in local tournaments. With instruction from his older brother, Ashley began to play chess. When Ashley was twelve years old he moved with his family moved to the Brownsville section of Brooklyn, New York. Let’s part with a quote from the Grandmaster, Losing is learning!įinally what happens the Grandmaster meets a trash-talking hustler from New York.International Grandmaster of Chess Maurice Ashley was born on March 6, 1966, in St. He is someone who is always aiming high and for the very best in everything he does. Maurice is truly a special man! Very proud of his achievements! – ALįor many of us who have been following the Grand master’s career we cannot wait to see what his next milestone is. Now that I am in business with him, I admire him for his integrity and kind heart. I can never forget asking myself what is this guy’s brain made of the first time I met him and saw him play blindfold chess against 5 people back in 2009. Remember seeing you for the first time at 11 years old and thinking one day I’d love to achieve such a profound level of excellence. – EGĪlso thanks for inspiring generations of young african-american men from afar to pursuit the game with love and respect that it deserves. – DSĬan’t wait to hear your induction speech because you are the best speaker in the business as well. smile emoticon Everytime I go to WCHOF and look at the plaques, I envision both of these. I feel blessed to have been tutored by a Hall of Famer. You have worked so hard in this area of your life and deserve all the great rewards of your work. That is so amazing! Congratulations Maurice. Below are just a few comments that were posted on social media about Maurice’s achievement at the US Hall of Fame. The tributes are already pouring in on social media about Grand master Ashley. and World Chess Halls of Fame, which honor the accomplishments of the game’s finest players. A not-for-profit, collecting institution situated in the heart of Saint Louis, the WCHOF houses both the U.S. It was a game you wanted to watch until the very end.Īccording to its the website the World Chess Hall of Fame (WCHOF) celebrates one of the world’s oldest and best-loved games (chess) through vibrant, engaging exhibitions and creative programming. He brought the game alive, taking you through all the drama on the board, the ups and downs, every single minute and second of it. Maurice did his commentary with such energy and enthuasism it was like you were watching a game of football. It was one of the tournaments sponsored by Intel and featured heavyweights like Garry Kasparov and speed King Vishwanathan Anand. The first time I heard Maurice commenting on a game of chess I was blown away. Here is an interview with CNN – Maurice Ashley: Life As A Grandmaster At the time, it was a title possessed by less than 500 people in the whole world. These highly esteemed individuals include none other that President Barack Obama.Ī Jamaican immigrant raised in Brooklyn, Maurice Ashley became the first black person to achieve the rank of grandmaster in 1999. After only 2 editions chess fans like myself are already looking forward to the next edition.īy getting inducted into the Hall of Fame Maurice Ashley becomes the first player of colour to achieve such a feat and joins a select few black Americans who have been honoured to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Together with fellow partner Amy Lee they have established a tournament that is already one of the most exciting on the chess circuit as it pulls in some of the very top players in the world. Maurice is one of the people behind Millionaire Chess, a tournament which has breathed fresh air into the way tournaments are organised with its unique format at the end of the tournament.
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