Melvin Johnson: Mr. Ashley,what encouraged you to teach chess in this newly built community center in Harlem ?

Maurice Ashley: I’ve been teaching and coaching chess in Harlem for years now, since 1989 as a matter of fact. Before I became a Grand Master I really had the hope to spread chess to the youth of Harlem as a start, and then in our communities around the country. Chess is not really popular in our neighborhoods. I really want kids tuned into chess and playing.

MJ: So when did you become a Grand Master?

MA: Officially I became Grand Master in October of this year.

MJ: What was the competition like? Who did you play against ?

MA: When you play Chess its an international sport, so you have to play people all over the world . From Bermuda, Russia, Romania, England, France. I mean I had to play everybody, I traveled all around the world, because that's my profession

MJ: Do you have any specific matches you remember?

MA: The game that made me a grand master is a game I will remember forever, I was playing this Romanian international master. I’ve been trying for years to become a grand master, basically... since I was seventeen I had a dream about being a grand master and I’m thirty-three years old now.

MJ: So you started playing chess at seventeen?

MA: I started playing at fourteen, and one thing that bugged me was, I didn’t have a place like this ( chess center at the P.A.L. ) in the neighborhood. I grew up in East FlatBush Brooklyn on the border of Brownsville and we never had a neighborhood center, where as if you were interested in chess you could just play. Cats had basketball courts, we played handball all the time; football, but we didn’t have like a chess place. It was really frustrating for a long time for me because I was dreaming of becoming a grand master, but nobody knew what a grand master was, people would be like what is he talking about. Finally I pursued my dream and became a grand master. I said it’s time for me to do something, set up something so kids can get some exposure to the game. They may not be grand masters but at least they get some exposure and hopefully the game will help them in other ways.

MJ: What's so deep about chess that makes it hard ?

MA: Chess is deeply mental. When you have deficiencies up in your mind it will show up on a chess board, it will be reselected in the way you think; approach life; solve problems; focus and concentrate. All of that will be reflected on a chess board. That's what's so deep about the game. So somebody getting into the game starts to see that about themselves. You will see your own flaws, the things you do in life that's all messed up, you’ll actually see it on the board and be like damn I do that in life. That's why we try an teach chess to the kids because they’ll pick up on the life skills from learning chess. Problem solving; goal setting; concentration; focus and self-esteem is built up because there is nothing like winning a chess game cause it shows you have something up stairs.

MJ: I know how to play chess a little, I know how the pieces move, but I have no strategy.

MA: Strategy is complicated. If you really want to learn the game you have to grab a good book and break it down, it will teach you strategy basics. If you read a chess book you’ll be better than most people just hang in out playing chess. A guy might play chess for ten years, you read a chess book and practice for 1 year, you’ll eat’em alive because the book systematizes every thing, breaks it down.

MJ: Do you have any new goals or dreams

MA: My dream is to start a chess center in Harlem and hopefully as we get bigger we can start tournaments here. We are going to try and make chess so big in the Harlem community that there's going to be a spill over to other boroughs. Then take it out NY to other big cites, it will take time and money but hopefully being a grand master plus making history and everything will help me to carry out this dream. It will take a young Tiger Woods of chess to get the game out to the youth.

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