Ashley is the first black American chess grandmaster, and one of only five dozen grandmasters in the United States. On Tuesday, he’ll face some fierce opponents: 30 D.C. public school students, whom he’ll play simultaneously. How many opponents have you played at a time?
Fifty. You win most of them. Sometimes you lose one here or there. You never know what’s going to happen. I try to win every game, so if the students do win, they know they earned it. Some grandmasters let kids win to be nice, but I don’t do that. When they win, it’s real, so it’s the thrill of a lifetime.
When did you begin playing?
I started when I was 14, in public school, and that’s why it’s close to my heart. It wasn’t a formalized setting like a club or a class — just a friend who was playing in school. I fell in love with the game and became so obsessed. I was playing every day after school.
What kind of impact can chess have on students — particularly inner-city kids who might not be exposed to chess outside of school?
It’s a game that increases all these critical thinking skills, problem-solving skills — it’s intellectual karate, you might say. When you play chess, you get discipline, focus, awareness. It builds your self-esteem, especially in kids who pick it up at a young age. It’s the kind of game that can make a big difference in our schools.
Best surprise move a kid has pulled on you during a match?
It’s not a move, but the thing that stands out in my head is watching where kids have gone over the years: Yale, Harvard, Princeton, the University of Michigan, Vassar. These are kids straight out of Harlem, straight out of Brooklyn, and I see them transform. It still surprises me to see how far chess can take someone.
