Editing Maurice Ashley (section)

== Career ==
[[File:Maurice Ashley.jpg|thumb|Ashley in 2005]]
In 1992, Ashley shared the United States Game/10 chess championship with [[Maxim Dlugy]].<ref name=ChessLife-Yearbook-2006>{{cite journal |title=Our Heritage: 2006 U.S. Chess Federation Yearbook |journal=[[Chess Life]] |date=April 2007 |pages=50–57 |url=http://archive.uschess.org/CL_2006_Yearbook.pdf |access-date=18 February 2016 |publisher=[[United States Chess Federation]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160804072603/http://archive.uschess.org/CL_2006_Yearbook.pdf |archive-date=4 August 2016}}</ref>

On March 14, 1999, Ashley beat [[Adrian Negulescu]] to complete the requirements for the Grandmaster title. This made him the first Black chess [[Grandmaster (chess)|Grandmaster]].<ref name=AP>Hajela, Deepti  [https://apnews.com/article/afa475649a7443c2a2fcb49a36a1cb83 "Correction: Black Chessmaster story"], ''The Associated Press'', 18 April 2016</ref>

In September 1999, Ashley founded the Harlem Chess Center,<ref name=NYTimes-HarlemChessCenter-1999 /> which has attracted such celebrities as [[Larry Johnson (basketball, born 1969)|Larry Johnson]]<ref name=NYTimes-ChessLarryJohnson-2001>{{cite news |last1=Leland |first1=John |title=Playing Chess with: Larry Johnson; Fierce Competition, From a Seated Position |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/01/style/playing-chess-with-larry-johnson-fierce-competition-from-a-seated-position.html |access-date=18 February 2016 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=1 April 2001}}</ref> and [[Wynton Marsalis]].

Along with GM [[Susan Polgar]], Ashley was named 2003 Grandmaster of the Year by the U.S. Chess Federation.

In 2003, Ashley wrote an essay ''The End of the Draw Offer?'', which raised discussion about ways to avoid quick agreed draws in chess tournaments.

In 2005, he wrote the book ''Chess for Success,'' relating his experiences and the positive aspects of chess. He was the main organizer for the 2005 HB Global Chess Challenge, with the biggest cash prize in history for an open chess tournament.

In 2007, Ashley returned to his birth country of Jamaica and became the first GM to ever participate in a tournament there, the Frederick Cameron Open. After sweeping a field consisting of several of Jamaica's top players, Ashley was upset in the final round by Jamaican National Master [[Jomo Pitterson]].<ref name=JamaicaStar-Pitterson-2007 />

In 2008, Ashley was featured in an interview for the [[CNN]] documentary [[Black in America]]. He was shown during one scene in the film ''[[Brooklyn Castle]]'' mentoring a young chess player. He was mentioned in the chess movie ''[[Life of a King]]'' starring [[Cuba Gooding, Jr]].

Starting in the Fall of 2012, Ashley was a Director's Fellow at the [[MIT Media Lab]] and, between 2013 and 2015, Maurice was also a Fellow at [[Harvard University]]'s [[Berkman Center for Internet & Society]] in a joint fellowship at both Harvard's Berkman Center and the Media Lab at MIT. Currently, Maurice is a Research affiliate at the Media Lab at MIT.<ref name=MITMediaLab-Bio>{{cite web |title=Maurice Ashley Biography |url=http://www.media.mit.edu/people/mashley |website=[[MIT Media Lab]] |access-date=18 February 2016}}</ref><ref name=MITMediaLab-DirectorsFellow-Bio>{{cite web |title=About Maurice |url=http://directorsfellows.media.mit.edu/fellow-profiles/maurice-ashley/ |website=[[MIT Media Lab]] Director's Fellow Program |access-date=18 February 2016}}</ref><ref name=Harvard-Berkman-Bio>{{cite web |title=Maurice Ashley |url=https://cyber.law.harvard.edu/people/mashley |website=[[Harvard University]] [[Berkman Center for Internet & Society]] |access-date=18 February 2016}}</ref>

In 2013, Ashley announced he was planning the highest-stakes open chess tournament in history, [[Millionaire Chess|Millionaire Chess Open]]. Its first edition took place October 9–13, 2014 in Las Vegas.

In 2015, Maurice announced a partnership with the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis and Ascension, Your Move Chess. This program supports after school chess in the Florissant-Ferguson School District alongside other schools in the Saint Louis area. Longer term, the goal is to expand the program on a national level.<ref name="chess.com 3-18-16">{{cite news |url=https://www.chess.com/news/kamsky-ashleyhellip-2016-hall-of-fame-inductees-3275 |title=Maurice Ashley 2016 Hall of Fame Inductee! |work=[[Chess.com]] |publisher=[[Chess.com]] |date=March 18, 2016 |access-date=2016-03-26 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160419055254/https://www.chess.com/news/kamsky-ashleyhellip-2016-hall-of-fame-inductees-3275 |archive-date=April 19, 2016}}</ref>

In February 2016, a video of Ashley defeating a "trash-talking" amateur chess player in [[Washington Square Park]] went viral.<ref name=Time-Mashable-2016>{{Cite magazine |last1=Waxman |first1=Olivia B. |title=Watch a Trash-Talking Chess Player Realize He Is Playing a Grandmaster |url=https://time.com/4228077/chess-grandmaster-hustler-trash-talking/ |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |access-date=18 February 2016 |date=17 February 2016}}</ref><ref name=SBNation-Mashable-2016>{{Cite web |last1=Dator |first1=James |title=Chess grandmaster schools trash-talking, cheating old man in New York |url=https://www.sbnation.com/lookit/2016/2/16/11020494/central-park-chess-game-maurice-ashley-grandmaster-video |website=[[SBNation]] |access-date=18 February 2016 |date=17 February 2016}}</ref> The incident was referenced in an episode of [[Billions (TV series)|Billions]] where Ashley portrayed the chess hustler.

On April 13, 2016, Ashley was inducted into the [[US Chess Hall of Fame]] along with Chess Grandmaster [[Gata Kamsky]].<ref name="Chessdom Mar 2, 2016">{{cite news |url=http://www.chessdom.com/2016-inductees-to-u-s-and-world-chess-halls-of-fame-announced/ |title=2016 Inductees to U.S and World Chess Halls of Fame Announced |work=[[Chessdom.com]] |publisher=[[Chessdom.com]] |date=Mar 2, 2016 |access-date=2016-03-26}}</ref>

=== Commentator ===
[[File:Today in chess.jpg|thumb|Ashley during Today in Chess program]]
Ashley has worked, and currently is working, as a chess commentator covering many events, including those of the [[Grand Chess Tour]]. He was one of the commentators of the two matches between world champion Garry Kasparov and IBM's Deep Blue that took place in 1996 and 1997. He provided commentary for the Kasparov vs. Anand World Championship match in 1995. In 2003, Ashley hosted [[ESPN]]'s broadcast of Kasparov's match against X3D Fritz. He has also served as a commentator for the 2013–19 Sinquefield Cups, several US Chess Championships, and many other chess events.