“A game of chess is like a sword fight”, says RZA. He’s echoing the exact same kung-fu movie sample on Wu-Tang track “Da Mystery of Chessboxin’” from the group’s 1993 debut album Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers). Best known for producing that seminal hip-hop group, composing film soundtracks for Kill Bill and and acting in films like American Gangster, the 38 year-old RZA started playing chess when he was 11 years-old. It wasn’t until the last three years he started taking the game seriously after getting his butt kicked in Washington Square Park games. “Other players were talking about chess game theory or books on chess”, recalls RZA. “I had no idea there were books on chess”. RZA boned up on the game’s intricacies and became fascinated with its history. “I learned about all the great players — like Fischer and Kasparov.”