Maurice Ashley on Hip Hop, GZA and Will Smith

Controlled Chaos: Chess Grandmaster Maurice Ashley


By Adisa Banjoko, "The Bishop of Hip Hop"


"One of the beautiful things about chess, martial arts and Hip Hop is that at its highest levels race does seem to fall away. You only see the raw courage and art in motion. International Grandmaster Maurice Ashley embodies these three things when he plays as well as when he speaks. He is the first Black Grandmaster and is also a product of the Hip Hop generation. In this interview, we discuss how he began his journey as a chess player. He tells of how he clashed with GZA and Will Smith on the 64 and squares how martial arts is related to chess. We also discuss the various nuances of chess players on the street vs. classically trained chessmen."



Check out this great archive interview at http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=3223