Maurice Ashley - African-American Chess Grandmaster

Maurice Ashley - African-American Chess Grandmaster

Maurice Ashley was born on the 6th of march 1966 in Saint Andrew, Jamaica. He is a US-American Chess Grandmaster.

Ashley learned chess at the age of twelve. At this time his family moved from Jamaika to Brooklyn. Ashley progressed rapidly in chess strength and 1986 he became national master. In the year 1993 he received the title of "International Master(IM)" from the FIDE.

Maurice worked as a chess trainer and chess teacher from 1991 to 1997 in the Harlem Educational Activities Fund. In the tournament of Manhattan in 1999 he achieved his last grandmaster norm and received the grandmaster title soon afterwards.

Ashley's success was covered by the media throughout the USA. There were articles in: The New York Times, Sports Illustrated, Reader's Digest, USA Today, Time Magazine and others and he was invited to various TV shows.

Ashley promoted chess among the youth and coached the Raging Rooks and the Dark Knights both from Harlem. They both have won national championships. In September 1999 he opened the Harlem Chess Center. This has attracted celebrities as Larry Johnson and Wynton Marsalis. In 2003 Ashley was named the - Grandmaster of the Year - by the U.S. Chess Federation. He promotes chess all over the country speaking to people about chess and its benefits.