When Wu-Tang Clan leader and rabid chess enthusiast RZA was asked who was his favorite showbiz opponent, he responded in a heartbeat: Paul Banks. It’s true, says Interpol’s cryptic crooner. He and the rapper have played several serious games. “But RZA is an infinitely better player. He’s beyond hobbyist. He’s studied — and I’ve just played tons of chess. And chess goes by ranking systems, so if you’re in some chess community online, it’s very humbling.
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Growing up in New York, Robert Fitzgerald Diggs wasn’t your average sports-enthusiast teen.
He was primarily into chess and — once his older brothers started taking him to a cinema on 42nd Street — nothing but vintage kung fu flicks.
“It all started with a Bruce Lee movie, then a Jim Kelly movie and all of a sudden I was into the kung fu world,” recalls the auteur, who would later rechristen himself RZA to form the legendary hip-hop group the Wu-Tang Clan.
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