The Daily Show: Ears Edition - ICYMI - Grandmaster Maurice Ashley on Learning Life Lessons from Chess (Rebroadcast)

Episode Date: December 21, 2020

Chess commentator and grandmaster Maurice Ashley discusses his love for competitive trash-talking, playing chess in the hood and applying the game's lessons to life. Originally aired November 4, 2019. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You're listening to Comedy Central. When 60 Minutes premiered in September 1968, there was nothing like it. This is 60 Minutes. It's a kind of a magazine for television. Very few have been given access to the treasures in our archives. But that's all about to change. Like none of this stuff gets looked at. That's what's incredible. I'm Seth Done of CBS News. Listen to 60 Minutes, a second look, starting September 17th, wherever you get your podcasts. Please welcome, Maurice Ashley. Welcome to the show.

Thank you, thank you. So I should know the answer to this question, but what is a chess grandmaster? How do you become a grandmaster in chess? A grandmaster is the highest title you can have in the game, so you have to beat other grandmasters, top players from around the world? So, basically we're just badass. But if you, if you beat, if you beat a grandmaster, then, how come, the the th, th, th, th, th, that, that, th, th, th, th, th, th, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, their, their, thi, thi, thi, thi, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, their, th. th. th. th. thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi. Thank, the. the. the. the. Thank, th. the. the. thi. the. Thank, thi, thi, top players from around the world. So, you know, basically we're just badass. But if you beat, if you beat a Grandmaster, then, how come that Grandmaster is still a Grandmaster? Doesn't, shouldn't he like go down like Highlander type thing? No, you still stay at Grandmaster?

No, it is. Who's the Firstters, then you know the rest of us come up you don't just invert and version titles. So grandmaster means you basically know like all the finishing moves like in moral combat type thing. Not exactly but but close you know a lot of stuff. Yeah yeah I play chess. I play chess. I know all the chess. You call it a horse. You call it a horse. You call it a horse. I actually did play chess in a chess. A chess. A chess. I the chess. I the chess. I the chess. I the chess. I th. I th. I th. I th. I did play. I th. I did play. I did play. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the th. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I t. I t. I t. tape. tape. tape. t. tap. t. t. ty. ty. ty. ty. t. t. t. choose a sport and then there was like options like rugby which is our version of football and I was like I don't want to get hurt and then I chose chess. 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. 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. No, no- 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 true thing?

It's absolutely true. When you're sitting there four or five hours playing, you're ne the stamina the stamina the stamina the stamina tha tha tha tha tha thia thia thia thia th 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 Carlson, Fabiana Caruana, the guys who are playing in the world chess championship 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 blain toing toing toments for Porsche and everything. You commentate on the games. I find your story fascinating, you know, because you come from a world where you go, you don't 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 you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to the world the world the world the world. Because because because because because because because because because the world. the world. the world. thoo. the. the. thea. thoooooooooooooldlde. the. tolde. tolde. to to to to you brought elements of the hood into the way you commentate on chess now. Why did you do that and how did you get into it? You don't commentate in like a boring way. No, you know it's funny because you don't comment in like a boring way. You know it's funny. You know, it's funny. I'm from Brownsville, I'm from Brownsville. Right. Brownsville was so rough Mike had to get out of Brownsville.

And the people who played chess in the hood, the brothers were usually the cool guys. Right. I'm not like the old guys. So they'd be talking to you, trash talking the whole time 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 do commentary, 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 a game that many people people that many that many people people people people that many people people people that many people people that many that many people people people people that many that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's. th. th. th. th. th. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. the. the. the. the. the. the the the. the thea. the. the thea. the the the thea. th 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 that a thing people just say to make chess sound cool or do you actually think chess can help a person think analytically in life? First of all, chess is cool. I agree.

I play chess. You know, you trash ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch chash chash chash chess, I th. th. th. th. th. I th. I thi chess. I thi chess. I'm th. I'm th. I'm th. I th. I'm thi. I'm the. I'm the. I's the. I's the. the. the. the. 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. I th. the. t. t. te. te. te. te. te. te. te. te. te. te. te. te. te. te. te. te. telling you I play chess. I'm not lying about that. I play chess. You know, you trash chess on this show before. I... 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 love chess. I thought it was a good segment though. I thought it was funny. I thought it was funny. th was funny. th was funny. th was funny. Yeah. th was funny. th was funny. Yeah. th. th. th was funny. th. th. th. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. th. th. Yes. Yes. Yes. th. Yes. Yes. Yes. I was. I was. I was. I was. I was. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. Yes, th. Yes, th. Yes. Yes, th. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. still. But no, chess is used all the time as metaphors for politics and business and sports. I mean it's always being used. You always hear you're 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 to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to figure, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, th. th. th. thi. thi. thi. thi. thoom. thoes, it's thi. thoes, it's always their, it's always their, it's always their, it's always always their, it's always their, it's always their, it's always their, it's always their. It's always their. It's always their. their. their. their, it's always always always always always always always the the the the the the the the the the the the the thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thooooooooooooooooooooooooooom. You. th th th thi. It's always. It soon as you figure it out the other person is coming back at you with their best ideas Right. So yes, it's just like business politics You name it and you you teach kids to play chess What would you say is the one thing that changes in your mind when you start to learn chess like that you apply in life That the other person is more important than you are? Right because you get inside our heads? We're? went. you. you. you. you. you. you. you. you. you, you, th. th. th. th. th. th. the th. the the the you, to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to the to teach. te, te, te, the the the the their. to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to te. te. te. te. te. te. te. te. te. te. te. te. te. te. te. te. te. te. te. te. te. te. te. te. te. te. te. t 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 more than anything else. So 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. 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. 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 week nights at 11, 10 Central on Comedy Central on Comedy, and th and Comedy, and Comedy, and Comedy, and Comedy, and Comedy, and Comedy, and Comedy, and Comedy, and Comedy, and Comedy, and Comedy, and Comedy, Daily Show with Crevernoa, Ears Edition. Watch the Daily Show weeknights at 11, 10 Central on Comedy Central, and the Comedy Central

app. Watch full episodes and videos at the Daily Show. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and subscribe to the Daily Show on YouTube for exclusive content and more. When 60 Minutes premiered in September 1968, there was nothing like it. This is 60 Minutes. It's a kind of a magazine for television. Very few have been given access to the treasures in our archives. But that's all about to change.

Like none of this stuff gets looked at. That's what's incredible. I'm Seth Done of CBS News. Listen to 60 Minutes a second look on Apple podcasts starting September 17. This has been a Comedy Central podcast.