Maurice Ashley

February 14, 2009

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Profile America for the 14th day of Black History Month. When Maurice Ashley was 14, he was soundly beaten in a pickup game of chess. He picked up a paperback book on the game, intending to learn a trick or two. Instead, he was stunned by the beauty and complexity of chess. Since then, he has focused his life on the game. Along the way to becoming a national master, he discovered another love — coaching youngsters to play the game. Ten years ago, Maurice Ashley reached his goal of becoming an international grand master — one of only 900 in the world and the first African-American to achieve the distinction. More than 7 million Americans enjoy the intellectual challenge of chess, nearly 650,000 of them playing at least twice a week. This special edition of Profile America for Black History Month is a public service of the U.S. Census Bureau.

Sources: Statistical Abstract of the United States 2009, t. 1200
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2009edition.html