MAURICE ASHLEY
Maurice Ashley is the first African-American Grandmaster in chess history and a world-class keynote speaker whose unmatched ability to blend elite strategy with powerful storytelling has inspired audiences around the globe. Rising to prominence through his electrifying ESPN-caliber commentary for the World Chess Championship and Grand Chess Tour, Maurice redefined how the game is experienced and now brings that same energy to transformative talks on leadership, decision-making, and personal growth. He is the author of multiple books and online courses, including Move by Move, translated into Chinese in 2025, a three-time national championship coach, founder of the Maurice Ashley Fellowship expanding access to chess for underrepresented players, and a recipient of numerous community service honors, with inductions into the U.S. Chess Hall of Fame (2016) and the Brooklyn Technical High School Hall of Fame (2018) recognizing his extraordinary impact on the game and beyond.
GREGORY KAIDANOV
An International Chess Grandmaster, Gregory Kaidonov has won more than 30 International tournaments, among them World Open, US Open, Aeroflot Open in Moscow, Russia, Goodricke Open in Calcutta, India and Gausdal Classic in Norway. As a coach, he works with both Men’s and Women’s National Teams. Among his students are National and World Champions in all different age groups.
IRINA KRUSH
A longtime special guest participant in the Queen City Classic, Irina Krush was born in Odessa, USSR (now Ukraine). At age 14 Krush won the 1998 U.S. Women’s Chess Championship to become the youngest U.S. women’s champion ever. She has won the championship on seven other occasions, in 2007, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2020, eight titles in total. She became a Grandmaster in 2013. We honor her for her groundbreaking work on behalf of women in chess as well as her triumph over Covid-19 in 2020.