Master of the game: Chess whiz Maurice Ashley.After being crowned the first black International Grand Master of Chessin March 1999 (a title held by roughly 800 other players in the world), Maurice Ashley Maurice Ashley (born March 6, 1966 St. Andrew, Jamaica) is a chess grandmaster. He is the first and only African-American grandmaster. In the October 2006 rating lists, he had a FIDE rating of 2465, and a USCF rating of 2520 at standard chess, and 2536 at quick chess. made history again in January 2003 as the first African American African American Multiculture A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa. See Race. to play for the U.S. Chess Championship The introduction to this article provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject matter. Please help [ improve the introduction] to meet Wikipedia's layout standards. You can discuss the issue on the talk page. See also: U.S. since the tournament's inception in 1861. He capitalizes on his illustrious recognition to attract African Americans, and people in general, to One of the world's most popular games of strategy--and up the ante while he's at it. "I want people to think of chess the way they think about tennis and golf," declares Ashley, "with big tournaments and big prizes." And this 38-year-old native of Jamaica. based in Queens, New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of . is making the first move. In May, his organization. Generation Chess (wwwgenerationchess.com), will host the HB Global Chess Challenge at the Minneapolis Convention Center The Minneapolis Convention Center is a large convention center located in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is located one block off of Nicollet Mall near Orchestra Hall. for a Cash prize of $500.000--the largest ever for an open chess tournament. Chess, a descendant of the Indian board game Chaturanga; was altered as it migrated across Western Europe Western Europe The countries of western Europe, especially those that are allied with the United States and Canada in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (established 1949 and usually known as NATO). around the 10th century. The game as we know it today emerged around 1475. There are approximately 500 million amateur and pro chess players worldwide. and the popularity of this sport is rivaled only by soccer. But Unlike most sports, it's one you can start at any age. Ashley, who also commentates chess matches for ESPN ESPN Entertainment and Sports Programming Network , suggests reading as the best way to get started. He recommends Logical Chess: Move by Move by Irving Chernev (B.T. Batsford; $21.95), Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess by Bobby Fischer (Bantam: $7.99), and My System by Aron Nimzowitsch (Hays Publishing; $17.50). "It [helps] to have a practice partner you can play against frequently," adds Ashley. Traditional chess clubs are a dying species, being replaced by Websites like the Internet Chess Club (www.chess club.com). Player registration for tournaments listed on the U.S. Chess Federation's Website (www.uschess.org) ranges from $15 to $280. Perfecting the game requires, says Ashley "patience, determination, and the willingness to treat failure and loss as motivation to learn." |
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