Wild Rabbit

Hennessy's Wild Rabbit — Never Stop. Never Settle. — had spent eight years celebrating extraordinary individuals, almost always through physical feat. Pacquiao. Nas. The Piccards. Major Taylor. The new chapter needed to live in the mind.

It spotlights Maurice Ashley, who became the first Black chess grandmaster in 1999 after teaching himself from worn-out library books and sharpening his game on the street. The film traces his journey from wide-eyed rookie to grandmaster, transporting viewers to early-'90s Brooklyn and the legendary players of the Black Bear School of Chess in Prospect Park. What begins as a story of defeat and perseverance becomes a journey through the layers of Maurice's mind.

The world was built specifically — summer 1990, its own subculture with distinct fashion, graphics, sound, tempo, and color, and deliberately not well-trodden hip-hop New York.

The chapter extended beyond the film. A short-form documentary, guided by Maurice and his mentor Willie "Pops" Johnson, goes deeper into his ascent and how he keeps opening doors for the next generation. Lessons of a Grandmaster is a series of shorts combining the lessons of the board, a dash of street wisdom, and art-of-war principles that apply to any of life's endeavors.