simultaneous exhibition

Maurice Ashley, the first Black grandmaster, featured heavily on the latest episode of Oprah Winfrey’s podcast exploring the importance of character development and learning.  Winfrey, alongside Wharton professor of psychology Adam Grant, explored Ashley’s journey as teacher for the Harlem-based “Raging Rooks” chess team of young students. Despite lacking the resources enjoyed by many of their chess contemporaries at private schools, the team, coached by Ashley, rose to compete for national championships by focusing on disciplined learning and toughness in the face of adversity.

Ashley’s outlook on teaching chess echoes many philosophies similar to what we espouse at the U.S. Chess Center.  When he began his work with the Raging Rooks team Ashley, as Grant observed during the interview, did not task his young students with memorization or early specialization (intense focus on one individual aspect of the game, to the exclusion of others).  These are practices that can drive short-term improvement at the expense of long-term development and interest in the game.  Instead, Ashley’s approach emphasized the development of character traits such as confidence and resilience, to ensure that his charges were equipped psychologically to deal with the various unpredictable challenges chess threw their way.