Born in Jamaica, Maurice Ashley is the first and only African- American to attain chess’ highest title of International Grandmaster. The New York Times, USA Today, Time Magazine, Sports Illustrated, Reader’s Digest, Ebony, and a host of other publications around the world reported his achievement. In addition, he has appeared on the Charlie Rose Show, CBS News This Morning, NPR, CNN, Bloomberg Radio, and many other broadcasts. Over the years, Mr. Ashley has received multiple community service awards from city governments, universities, and non-profit groups.

Mr. Ashley is proud of his many major chess accomplishments. In 1991, he coached a team of kids from Harlem to victory at the National Junior High School Championships, in Dearborn, Michigan. In 1993, he became the first African-American International Master in US history, finished 1st place in the prestigious Enhance International, and won the title of Champion at the historic Marshall Chess Club Championship. Mr. Ashley was a commentator for the World Championship match between Kasparov and Anand in 1995. He tied for 1st place in the Bermuda Open in 1997, and was a lead commentator when World Champion Garry Kasparov lost to IBM’s Deep Blue chess computer. In 1999, Mr. Ashley became the first African-American International Grandmaster in history. He also opened the Harlem Chess Center, which unfortunately closed in 2002 due to lack of adequate funding.

In the 2000 Foxwoods Open, Mr. Ashley tied for 1st place, and in 2001, became the only back-to-back winner in Foxwoods Open history. In 2002, he became the 1st African- American in 157 years to qualify for the US Championship. The US Chess Federation awarded him the title of Grandmaster of the Year in 2003. In 2004, Mr. Ashley was named Community Educator of the Year by his alma mater, the City College of New York. He also hosted the ESPN broadcasts of the Man vs. Machine chess competitions.

Mr. Ashley’s CD-ROM chess tutorial, Maurice Ashley Teaches Chess, has been hailed as a “proven method for creating tournament champions.” His book Chess for Success, in which he writes about the benefits of chess to young people, is scheduled to be released in August of 2005. His company, Generation Chess, is organizing the largest Open chess tournament in history, to be held in Minneapolis, Minnesota in May of 2005. With a record-shattering prize fund of $500,000 and an expected 4,000 participants, the HB Global Chess Challenge may well represent a watershed moment in chess history.

With the Maurice Ashley Foundation, Ashley hopes to establish chess as a key component in the development of thinking as a skill in a young people.

Additional Resources: View video of Mr. Ashley accepting his achievement award at the AILF event December 3, 2004, in New York. www.mauriceashley.com/biography.htm