Chess master brings message to Quad-Cities

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By Jody Ferres | Monday, November 13, 2006 1:15 AM CST | () comments

Photos by Nick Loomis/QUAD-CITY TIMES Eli DeWilde, 8, right, waits for his father to come back to the table where they and 30 others played simultaneous chess games with International Grandmaster of Chess Maurice Ashley, far left, Sunday at Rock Island High School.

Siem Tesfaslase of Iowa City watches Maurice Ashley contemplate a move in one of the 31 simultaneous games he played Sunday.

Playing 31 chess games simultaneously might seem like a daunting task — unless you are International Grandmaster of Chess Maurice Ashley.

Ashley made his way around the semi-circle of players in Rock Island High School’s library Sunday afternoon, each time stepping in front of the 64-square board while his opponent would make his perfectly executed move. Ashley responded to some boards simultaneously, reaching for a pawn before his opponent’s hand was back in his lap. For others, Ashley stood with his hands on the table, taking 10 or 15 seconds to determine the correct move to make, never taking more then 30 seconds before moving on to the next board.

“Hopefully his hand slips, and he puts his queen in the wrong spot,” whispered a high school opponent to a teenager sitting next to him.

“Yeah, right,” his neighbor whispered, chuckling to himself as Ashley went on to the next round of moves.

Brought to the Quad-Cities through Western Illinois University’s Expanding Cultural Diversity Association, Ashley is spending time in the Quad-Cities not only to show his exceptional chess skills but also to show local schools the positive impact chess can have in a classroom.

Sunday afternoon, 31 boys and men ranging from elementary school to retired tried their hand at beating the pro in a two-hour chess game. Ashley made trip after trip around the boards, telling each player to be ready to make his move when he got there.

“Don’t try to move while I’m gone, because I’ll know,” Ashley said before starting the game. “It’s not two-for-one day.”

Chess can be much more than a game, said J.Q. Adams, a member of the university group that sponsored the event.

“It’s a strategy (that) can really enhance academics,” Adams said. “We hope to inspire kids who are playing to continue and encourage others to play. Chess has real merit.”

Chess increases problem solving, logic skills, creativity and many more aspects of an educational environment, Ashley said.

“I really believe in the mission of chess. It’s a wonderful alternative to the things that kids do,” Ashley said. “Schools put a lot of emphasis on sports instead of the things that expand their minds.”

Ashley, a 40-year-old Jamaica native, got his start in chess after moving to New York when he was 12. After finding a chess book in his school library and having a friend beat him time after time, Ashley decided playing chess was something he just wanted to do.

“I would study and read and then get whopped, so that would make me study and read some more,” he said. “My mother always knew where I’d be — in front of those 64 squares.”

After Ashley went to college, he started mentoring and teaching chess to a group of students from a troubled Brooklyn neighborhood. He led the high school group to a national victory in 1991 and earning a space on the cover of the New York Times.

“That’s when I knew I wanted to be a grandmaster,” said Ashley, who earned the title in 1999. Since then, Ashley has been touring the United States teaching schools the importance of chess. He also opened the Harlem Chess Center in New York.

Earl Strupp, a Rock Island school board member and retired English teacher, has been teaching a fifth-grade math class at the district’s Earl Hanson Elementary School to play chess. Strupp, who also helped orchestrate Ashley’s visit, really believes in chess.

“It really teaches logic and to think ahead,” said Strupp, as he waited his turn in the game.

Andalusia mom Terri Anderson sees the importance in the game. Her son, Chris, 13, started playing when he was a first-grader.

“We just started practicing together, and he really enjoyed it. I’m so glad he’s still in his game — I was afraid he might be out by now,” said Anderson, as she watched her son play his turn against Ashley.

“I think chess has helped Chris not to speed so fast through his homework and take the time to think about what he’s doing, like you do in chess,” she said.

Moline High School senior Lucas Mellinger also was impressed with how he was holding up against the grandmaster.

“I was pretty excited to come because you don’t get to see a grandmaster in chess very often,” said Mellinger, who started playing two years ago with his uncle. “I’m doing better than what I thought I would do.”

Schedule today

International Grandmaster of Chess Maurice Ashley will finish his Quad-City visit today with a morning trip to Earl Hanson Elementary School in Rock Island and an afternoon session with faculty and students at the Western Illinois University, Quad-City campus, for discussions focusing on connections between chess and education.

The city desk can be contacted at (563) 383-2450 or newsroom@qctimes.com.