Grandmaster Maurice Ashley — The Path and Strategies of World-Class Mastery (#449)
“Once you get to the top of the mountain, you look around, and you get your chance to look. And now what? You’ve got a nice view. That’s great. How long can you stay on the mountain? You need another mountain.”
— Grandmaster Maurice Ashley
Maurice Ashley (@MauriceAshley) made history in 1999 when he became the first African-American chess grandmaster. He is a three-time national championship coach, author of Chess for Success: Using an Old Game to Build New Strengths in Children and Teens, ESPN commentator, iPhone app designer, puzzle inventor, and motivational speaker.
Maurice is well known for providing dynamic live tournament coverage of world-class chess competitions and matches. His high-energy, unapologetic, and irreverent commentary combines Brooklyn street smarts with professional ESPN-style sports analysis. He has covered every class of elite event, including the World Chess Championships, the US Chess Championships, the Grand Chess Tour, and the legendary “man vs. machine” matches between Garry Kasparov and IBM’s Deep Blue.
Traveling the world as an ardent spokesperson for the many character-building effects of chess, Maurice consults with universities, schools, chess clubs, executives, and celebrities on how chess principles and strategies can be applied to improve business practices and assist with personal growth. Maurice also acts as a master of ceremonies and inspirational speaker at business conferences and high-class chess events.
Maurice has received multiple community service awards from city governments, universities, and community groups for his work. In recognition of his immense contribution to the game, he was inducted into the US Chess Hall of Fame in 2016 and the Brooklyn Technical High School Hall of Fame in 2018.
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#449: Grandmaster Maurice Ashley on the Magic of Chess, The Art of Trash Talking, Must-Read Biographies, and Morehttps://rss.art19.com/episodes/68b05985-23db-4c2f-b627-c56c96e35daf.mp3Download
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SCROLL BELOW FOR LINKS AND SHOW NOTES…
Want to hear an episode with our mutual friend Josh Waitzkin? Have a listen to our most recent conversation in which we discussed his own relationship with Maurice, approaches to learning, the benefits of being a beginner, why feedback loops are game-changers, unorthodox skill acquisition, and much more.
#412: Josh Waitzkin on Beginner’s Mind, Self-Actualization, and Advice from Your Future Selfhttps://rss.art19.com/episodes/12d68ba3-6324-4364-95af-8113430a1adb.mp3Download
SELECTED LINKS FROM THE EPISODE
Connect with Maurice Ashley:
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
Chess for Success: Using an Old Game to Build New Strengths in Children and Teens by Maurice Gordon Ashley
Kingston, Jamaica | Visit Jamaica
Softball | Wikipedia
Reggae Sunsplash | Wikipedia
Exploring the Barrel Children Cycle: Parent-Child Separation Due to Migration | Childhood Explorer
Brownsville: Inside One of Brooklyn’s Most Dangerous Neighborhoods | Time
Park Slope, Brooklyn | StreetEasy
Brooklyn Technical High School
History of Chess: From Early Stages to Magnus | Chess.com
The Rising of the Black Star | The United States Chess Federation
Foreign Names of Chess Pieces | ChessOps
How to Play Blitz Chess: 12 Steps (with Pictures) | wikiHow
Grandmaster Maurice Ashley Plays NYC Trash-Talker | The Tim Ferriss Experiment
Searching for Bobby Fischer | Prime Video
Manhattan Chess Club | Wikipedia
Marshall Chess Club
Tiger Woods: 1997 Masters Tournament Final Round Broadcast | The Masters
Harlem Educational Activities Fund
Elo Rating System | Wikipedia
How to Become a Chess Grandmaster | Chess.com
How I Became an International Master, and You Can Too | The Chess World
Bar Examination | Wikipedia
Top 5 Free Chess Databases | Chess for Beginners
Chess Openings: Sicilian Defense | The Chess Website
How to Play Shogi | Ancient Chess
The Mystery of Go, the Ancient Game That Computers Still Can’t Win | Wired
The Grandmaster Diet: How to Lose Weight While Barely Moving | ESPN
Tara Brach on Meditation and Overcoming FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) | The Tim Ferriss Show #94
Aikido | Wikipedia
Ashley’s Secret: Aikido Chess! | ChessBase
Aikido and the Dynamic Sphere: An Illustrated Introduction by Adele Westbrook and Oscar Ratti
Meet the First African American to Become a Chess Grandmaster | Black History
FIDE Titles | Wikipedia
Maurice Ashley’s Chess For Progress: How The Grandmaster Is Using The Game To Teach Life Skills | NPR
The Harlem Gambit | Sports Illustrated Vault
The Grandmaster Who Got Twitch Hooked on Chess | Wired
International Chess Federation
Chess.com
Lichess.org
Chess24.com
Tsume Shogi | Japanese Chess
Play Winning Chess by Yasser Seirawan
Winning Chess Openings by Yasser Seirawan
Winning Chess Strategies by Yasser Seirawan
Winning Chess Tactics by Yasser Seirawan
Winning Chess Combinations by Yasser Seirawan
Winning Chess Brilliancies by Yasser Seirawan
I Never Had It Made: An Autobiography of Jackie Robinson by Jackie Robinson and Alfred Duckett
My Bondage and My Freedom by Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom by David W. Blight
Harriet Tubman: The Road to Freedom by Catherine Clinton
Transatlantic Slave Trade | Slavery and Remembrance
“You Can’t Legislate Love.” | Denzel Washington
The Reconstruction Amendments | National Constitution Center
A Brief History of Jim Crow | Constitutional Rights Foundation
The Devastation of Black Wall Street | JSTOR Daily
Racial Conflict: Race Riots Archives | Black Past
Civil Rights Act (1964) | Our Documents
Voting Rights Act (1965) | Our Documents
Woolworth’s Lunch Counter | Separate Is Not Equal
Redlining: A ‘Forgotten History’ Of How The US Government Segregated America | NPR
Alexis de Tocqueville on the Tyranny of the Majority | NEH-Edsitement
Democracy in America by Alexis de Tocqueville
8 Minutes and 46 Seconds: How George Floyd Was Killed in Police Custody [Video] | The New York Times
Black Lives Matter
Summary of H.R. 5777: Police Accountability Act of 2020 | GovTrack.us
Link Between Education, Income Inequality Has Existed for a Century | ScienceDaily
Why Can’t We Focus During This Pandemic? | New Statesman
Wolmer’s High School for Boys
US Education Ranking Is Falling Behind the Rest of the World: How That Hurts the Economy and You | The Balance
Support a Classroom. Build a Future. | DonorsChoose
QuestBridge
Tribe of Mentors: Short Life Advice from the Best in the World by Tim Ferriss
Passages: Predictable Crises of Adult Life by Gail Sheehy
Mastery: The Keys to Success and Long-Term Fulfillment by George Leonard
How Tiger Woods’ Career Might Have Turned out Differently | Bleacher Report
The Matrix | Prime Video
The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich by Timothy Ferriss
The Half-Life of Facts: Why Everything We Know Has an Expiration Date by Samuel Arbesman
Why Is Pluto No Longer a Planet? | Library of Congress
“You Can Always Find Somewhere to Salsa!” | Maurice, Twitter
Bachata Dance 2019 | Bachatwins
Spanish Podcast Episodes | Duolingo
The 12 Best Telenovelas of All Time | Cosmopolitan
Marcelo Garcia Trains Tim Ferris on Episode of The Tim Ferriss Experiment | Jiu Jitsu Times
Majority | Mark Twain Quotes
SHOW NOTES
The Maurice Ashley origin story. [06:59]
Competition runs strong in the Ashley family. [09:55]
Why did Maurice’s family make the move to the US from Jamaica? Why did it involve a separation from their mother for 10 years, and what was it like to finally be reunited? [12:02]
What neighborhood in the US became home, and how did chess enter the picture for young Maurice? [15:29]
How a library book and a worthy opponent changed the way Maurice thought about chess. [18:17]
What was the Black Bear School? [19:58]
Blitz chess vs. classical chess. [23:25]
The Maurice Ashley guide to trash-talking. [25:46]
As the youngest member of the Black Bear School, what did Maurice see as the biggest setback keeping his older peers from truly excelling, and how did he evolve after “graduating” from their ranks? [30:18]
How did the atmosphere of a venerable chess club compare to what Maurice had, up to that point, been used to? [32:53]
Frustrated along the way on his quest to become a Grandmaster, what did Maurice learn from Tiger Woods that kept him in the game? [33:45]
At this time, how did Maurice’s frustration and depression around getting stuck in a rut transmute into the inspiration he needed to emerge from that rut? [36:04]
How does someone become a Master, Grandmaster, or any title in between? [39:29]
After teaching, commentating, and writing, how did Maurice get back into training shape to pursue his Grandmaster goal — and what technological advantage did he have in 1997 that he didn’t have in his Black Bear School days? [42:30]
How does Maurice suggest building mental and physical stamina for high-level chess (and why might you be hard-pressed to find a top-level player who could be considered overweight)? [47:00]
How does Maurice tie the disciplines of aikido and chess together? [50:38]
How did the experience of finally achieving the coveted Grandmaster title hit Maurice? What was the view like from the top of that mountain, and where could he possibly go after that? [53:31]
How does Maurice get kids hooked on chess, what does he get out of teaching, and what have been his most memorable teams? [57:02]
Why has chess remained popular for 1,500 years –and even seems to be increasing in popularity in the age of COVID-19? [58:31]
What would Maurice suggest to a relative chess beginner who doesn’t necessarily aspire to be a Grandmaster, but just wants to become competent at the game? [1:01:37]
Using puzzles to expand your repertoire and confidence. [1:03:38]
Recommended reading (for chess and general inspiration). [1:05:49]
How Maurice is processing the social unrest of 2020. [1:13:29]
How would Maurice hope to offset the tyranny of the majority in a way that makes America more just and equitable for all Americans — not just most Americans? [1:19:29]
As someone who’s spent time as an educator, where does Maurice feel our current educational models are most woefully lacking? [1:24:40]
How nonprofits DonorsChoose and QuestBridge are trying to help provide resources to teachers and students in underserved communities — now even more in need during the COVID-19 pandemic. [1:29:49]
Maurice expands on books he was kind enough to mention in Tribe of Mentors as having an impact on him. [1:33:02]
On being flexible, embracing uncertainty, and living out of a suitcase (though the timing might not be ideal). [1:39:50]
Maurice has never been afraid to say “I don’t know.” So where does salsa dancing, telenovelas, and Pluto fit into all of this? [1:42:09]
Parting thoughts and talking trash. [1:49:18]
PEOPLE MENTIONED
Josh Waitzkin
Garry Kasparov
Maurice’s Mom
Maurice’s Dad
Maurice and Siblings
Devon Cormack
Alicia Ashley
Martha Graham
Nia Ashley
Mike Tyson
Paul Morphy
Clotaire Colas
Willie “Pops” Johnson
Edward Scissorhands
Ralph Malph
William Shakespeare
Vinnie Livermore
Laurence Fishburne
Bobby Fischer
William Morrison
George Golden
Ronald Simpson
Earnest Colding
Mark Meeres
Chris Welcome
Sam Singh
Tiger Woods
Dan Rose
Courtney Welsh
Arpad Elo
Bruce Lee
Napoleon Bonaparte
Magnus Carlsen
Oscar Ratti
Adele Westbrook
Ronnie Simpson
Hikaru Nakamura
LeBron James
Alexander Alekhine
Yasser Seirawa
Jackie Robinson
Frederick Douglass
David Blight
Harriet Tubman
Denzel Washington
Alexis de Tocqueville
Jayden Ashley
George Floyd
Michael McCullough
Gail Sheehy
George Leonard
Keanu Reeves
Morpheus
Neo
Samuel Arbesman
Marcelo Garcia
Mark Twain
