The Life-Changing Magic of Chess: Maurice Ashley’s Inspiring Journey

The Life-Changing Magic of Chess, by Maurice Ashley is a little gem of a book.

Last week on my visit to London’s famous Chess and Bridge shop I finally bought my copy. It’s a delightful book that belongs in all three classrooms where I teach chess.

The World’s First black grandmaster

Maurice Ashley is the world’s first black grandmaster, a three time national championship coach, author and commentator. This is the first book I’ve found that celebrates the life of a chess player and is perfect for primary school aged children and beyond!

The story of his life

The book tells the story of how chess changed Maurice Ashley’s life. The story begins with Maurice receiving his first ever chessboard as a young 8 year old and how he left his home in Jamaica and moved to Brooklyn, New York. From then on the reader is hooked. We learn about friends, family and special people he meets along the way. We learn about key events that shaped his wonderful chess career.

Life Lessons through Chess

When you read this book, you feel like you’re a friend hearing a story. There is a very gentle approach throughout. Sometimes I read strong statements or one liners about the chess journeys of great players but this feels different. A kind voice guides you on this journey and weaves in morals and life lessons you can learn on the chessboard.

I love the illustrations, the shades of green in the images add to the nurturing tone and it also reads like a graphic novel. (I grew up on Batman comics by the way! If I read a book in one sitting then it’s a good read!) The images of chess pieces and chessboards are visually stunning. This book is inclusive, from characters to role models and that’s another reason it belongs in the classroom.

A Chess Introduction

There are three layers to this book all woven together beautifully… The autobiographical element, the life lessons and the introduction to the game of chess. Experienced chess players will still find it interesting and new players will learn the basics to the game. Learn about the pieces, castling, and explore one of Maurice’s games in more detail.

More books please

This book inspires and if you begin reading it to your students you won’t want to put it down. It is about chess but it’s also about hard work and finding your path in life. For example, there are pages about planning ahead in a game, pages about how to train like an athlete and how playing chess is like being a magican. Our children need role models so I really hope that more books like this are published. Maybe it’s time for a series?

We met many years ago, Mr Maurice Ashley

In 2016 the primary school I worked at had a tutor from the Chess in Schools charity.

https://www.chessinschools.co.uk/

As the school’s link teacher I was lucky enough to attend a Chess in Schools chess course and take a group of 20 students to the London Chess Classic at Olympia. The children’s day was a day of fun and excitement, my students got to take part in a chess simul and play in the children’s chess tournament. They loved every minute!

On a different day, after the course, I was able to visit the London Chess Classic where 10 of the greatest players battled it out on the stage. It really was an amazing event! Across the corridor was the commentators’ room. I think I entered the room twice and I remember the engaging and exciting commentary by Maurice Ashley. Such a great day!