Maurice is a chess teacher, author and excellent
sports announcer. He, Yassar Seirawan and Paul Hoffman did the live
commentary for the ESPN2 broadcasts of the Kasparov vs. X3D Fritz match.
He was on a PBS special that air in early February.
Maurice took on a very important chess issue. The no fight quick
draw. If chess is to gain acceptance as a sport and get TV network
coverage, it must find a solution to this problem. Maurice did a no holds
barred article about the draw in the June 2003 issue of Chess Life
Magazine. In April of 2003 Maurice's idea for a 50 move no
draw offer was put into action during the Generations Chess Tournament at
the Marshall Chess Club in New York City. The rule simply states that no
player can offer a draw unless 50 moves have been played. The players
would be penalized 10 percent of their prize money if they violated the
rule. The tournament was won by a former US Junior Champion, IM Eugene
Perelshteyn. Former US Woman Champion, IM Irina Krush had a great
tournament as well and finished tied for 2nd with GM's Larry Christiansen
and Jaan Ehlvest. There were only 16 draws of the 46 games played.
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