The Daily Show: Ears Edition - ICYMI - Grand Master Maurice Ashley on Learning Life Lessons with Chess

Episode Date: November 4, 2019

Chess commentator and grand master Maurice Ashley discusses his love for competitive trash-talking, playing chess in the hood and applying the game's lessons to life. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You're listening to Comedy Central. Hey everybody, John Stewart here. I am here to tell you about my new podcast, The Weekly Show, it's going to be coming out every Thursday. So exciting. You'll be saying to yourself, TGID. Thank God it's Thursday. We're going to be talking about. All the things that hopefully obsess you in the same way that they obsess me. The election. Economics. Earnings calls. What are they talking about on these earnings calls? We're going to be talking about ingredient to bread ratio on sandwiches. And I know that I listed that fourth, but in importance it's probably second. I know you have a listed that fourth, but in importance, it's probably second.

I know you have a lot of options as far as podcasts go, but how many of them come out on Thursday? I mean, talk about innovative. Listen to the weekly show with John Stewart wherever you get your podcast. Please welcome, Maurice Ashley. So I should know the answer. Thank you, thank you. So I should know the answers to this question, but what is a chess grandmaster. How do you become a grandmaster in chess? the grambassas. the highest title you can have in a game so you have to beat other grandmasters, top players from around the world so

now basically we're just badass. But if you if you beat a grandmaster then, if you beat a grandmaster then, how come that grandmaster then? How come that grandmaster is still a grandmaster doesn't? Shouldn't, shouldn't, shouldn't, shouldn't, shouldn't, shouldn't, shouldn't, shouldn't, shouldn't, shouldn't, shouldn't, shouldn't, shouldn't, shouldn't, shouldn't, shouldn't, shouldn't, shouldn't, shouldn't, shouldn't, shouldn't, shouldn't, shouldn't, shouldn't, shouldn't, shouldn't, shouldn't, shouldn't, shouldn't, shouldn't, shouldn't, shouldn't, shouldn't, shouldn't, shouldn't, shouldn't, shouldn't, shouldn't, shouldn't, shouldn't, shouldn't, shouldn, shouldn, shouldn, shouldn, shouldn, shouldn, shouldn, shouldn, shouldn, shouldn, shouldn, shouldn, shouldn, shouldn, shouldn, shouldn, shouldn, shouldn, shouldn, shouldn, shouldn, shouldn, shouldn, shouldn, shouldn, shouldn, shouldn, shouldn, shouldn, shouldn, shouldn, shouldn, shouldn, shouldn, shouldn, shouldn, shouldn, shouldn, shouldn, shouldn, shouldn? Shouldn, shouldn? Shouldn, shouldn? Shouldn, shouldn't, shouldn't, shouldn't, shouldn't, shouldn't, shouldn't, shouldn't, shouldn't, shouldn't, shouldn't, shouldn't, shouldn't, shouldn't, shouldn't, you still stay at Grandmaster? No, it is. Who's the first Grand Master then? They had the Grandmasters back in the 1900s, early 1900s, 1914, and the top players, and once they establish them as Grandmasters, then you know, the rest of us come up. You don't just invert, inverted titles. So know a lot of stuff. Yeah, yeah. I play chess. I know all the chess. You call it a horse.

You call it a horsey earlier. I actually did play chess in school. We had to choose a sport. And then there was options like rugby, which is our version of football. And I was like, I don't want to get hurt. And then, you know what's interesting is, I say that now, but you can't see this in the cameras, but if you look at like Maurice's arms, like, I've met a few chess players recently. You guys have a lot of muscles for people who just move a piece of plastic around.

Those chess pieces are heavy, man. But this is a real thing though. You actually have to try and be in shape to play chess well. Is this a thru th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th thu thu thu thu thu thu thu thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi. But if thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi. thi. to to to to to to to thi. toooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo. the. the. thi. th pieces are heavy man. But this is a real thing though. You actually have to try and be in shape to play chess well. Is this a true thing? It's absolutely true. When you're sitting there four or five hours playing you're concentrating, you're need the stamina, you need to be able to focus that kind of time, you've got to be in shape. And all the top players, Magnus right now. They're working out three, four hours all the time every day, man. They have to stay in shape. You see, that's mind-blowing to me, because, I mean, you talk about these people. Some people may know Magnus, you know,

he's a world celebrity now. I mean, he models as well. He does endorsements for porthe. think that a young black kid is going to get into chess at the level that you got into. Right? Chess was that sport that maybe you saw the old guys playing in the hood. It wasn't like something everyone wants to get into. But you played it. You got good at it. And what I like, you've got good at it. And what I like is that you brought the hood into the way. the way. What's it? Why, why? Why, why? Why, why? Why, why? Why, why? the. the. the the the the the the the the the the th. the th. th. th. the th. th. th. the th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thin. th. th. th. th. th. th. the. the. th. th. the. th. th. th I'm from Brownsville, Brooklyn, Brooklyn, Brooklyn, Brooklyn's in the building. No, Brownsville, we say Brownsville was so rough because Mike Tyson was from Brownsville. Right. Brownsville was so rough, Mike had to get out of Brownsville.

And the people who played chess in the hood, trash talking the whole time you're playing, and they're like, you know, I was playing chess with your sister last night. Wait. The idea that guys are trash talking. I mean, trash talking all the time. So you get that in your head, you get used to being distracted by players while you're playing. And you just stay cool. So now what I th th th th th th th. th. th. th. th. th. It's th. It's th. It's th. It's th. It's th. It's th. It's th. It's th. It's th. It's th. It's th. It's th. th. thi. thi. the thi. thi. thi. I'd thoing thoing. I's thoing. I's thi. I's thi. I's thi. I's tho. I the the the the the the the the the th. I the th. I th. I th. I's th. I's th. I's th. I's th. I's thi. I's thi. I's thi. I's thi. I'm thi. I'm thin. I'm thin. I'm thoing. I'm thoing. I'm ta. I'm too. I'm too teea. I'm thea. I'm thin. I do the same thing I try to bring that energy and that flow from the hood you know It's just normal. It's it's a game that many people have lauded as the ultimate thinkers game You know CEOs have said you learn chess and you learn how to defeat your enemies in the boardroom you teach? People chess tactics in life is the thing? Is that a thing? th. th. th. th. People people people people people people people people people people people people people people people people people people people people people people people people people people? th f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f in thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, their. thi. thi. th. th. their. their. their. their. their. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It. It. It's. It. It. It. It. It's. It. It. It. It. It's. It's. It. It. It. It's. It. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's, it's, it's, it's, it's a th. th. It's, it's, it's, it's a the the the the the th. th. th. th. thi. think chess can help a person think analytically in life?

First of all, chess is cool. I agree. I play chess. I'm telling you I play chess. I'm not lying about that. I play chess. I play chess. You know, chess, yes, yes, you did.

Yes, you did. The same way I make jokes about South Africa. I love South Africa, I make the jokes. I make jokes about myself. I love chess. I thought it was a good segment though. I thought it was funny. I thought it was funny, but still. Yeah.

But no, chess is used all the time as metaphors for politics and business and sports. It's always being used watching football and it's like, oh yeah, they just substituted that guy and it's like a chess match out here. Right, right. You always see that. So yes, it's a thinking game, strategic game. It's one against one. You've got to figure out your best ideas. And as soon as you figure it out, the other person is coming back at you with the one thing that changes in your mind when you start to learn chess, like that you apply in life?

The other person is more important than you are. Right? Because we get inside our heads, we got our own opinions. This is me. This is my best ideas. It's like Democrats and Republicans talking across from each other, right? But when you play chess you realize the other person has valid points and you've got to really get inside their head, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, thi, thi, thi, thi, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, th............. And, th. And, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi. And, thi. And, thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii. And, thi. And, thi. And it's not my best idea that counts. It's your best idea. And how am I going to beat you is by really studying what you want. And that's where the deep strategy comes into the game. That's fascinating.

So we need to teach the president how to play chess is what you're saying. That's going to be really hard, man. Dude, I'm excited for the world championships. Thank you so much for coming to the show. Maurice Ashley, everybody. The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, Ears Edition. Watch the Daily Show weeknights at 11, 10 Central on Comedy Central and the Comedy Central Act. Watch full episodes and videos at the Daily Show.com. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram,

and subscribe to the Daily Show on YouTube for exclusive content and more. This has been a Comedy Central Podcast. Hey, everybody, John Stewart here. I am here to tell you about my new podcast, the weekly show. It's going to be coming out every Thursday. So exciting. You'll be saying to yourself, TGID, thank God it's Thursday. We're going to be talking about all the things that hopefully obsess you in the same way that they obsess me. The election. Economics. Earnings calls. What are they talking about on these earnings calls? We're going to be talking about ingredient to bread ratio on sandwiches.

And I know that I listed that fourth, but in importance it's probably second. I know you have a lot of options as far as podcasts go, but how many of them come out on Thursday? I mean, talk about innovative. Listen to the weekly show with John Stewart, wherever you get your podcast.