Jamaica-born man the 1st black grandmaster to enter US Chess Hall of Fame
A Jamaica-born man is the first African-American to become a chess grandmaster and has also become the first black man inducted into the US Chess Hall of Fame.
Maurice Ashley’s love affair with chess began when he was just 14-years-old when the teen was challenged by a friend to a match.
Though Ashley lost the match, it sparked a lifelong love affair with the game.
Ashley was inducted into the Hall of Fame at a ceremony in St Louis earlier this week.
His induction coincided with the start of the US Chess Championship, for which he was serving as a commentator.
The 50-year-old Ashley who is a trailblazer in the sport says he would like to see more black players at the highest levels, and says it has been happening, slowly but surely.
The process of becoming a grandmaster is done under the auspices of the World Chess Federation (known by its French acronym FIDE), and involves earning overall points and performing particularly well in chess tournaments.
Born in Jamaica, Ashley came to the tough Brownsville section of Brooklyn with two siblings when he was 12.
news credit: Associated Press, Fox 2 Now
