Ray Robson | |
|---|---|
 Robson in 2010 | |
| Country | United States |
| Born | (1994-10-25)October 25, 1994 (age 30) Guam |
| Title | Grandmaster (2010) |
| FIDE rating | 2689 (March 2025) |
| Peak rating | 2704 (April 2023) |
| Ranking | No. 40 (March 2025) |
| Peak ranking | No. 32 (September 2024) |
Ray Robson (born October 25, 1994) is an Americanchess grandmaster. He achieved the grandmaster title in 2010, at the time the youngest American player to be awarded the title by FIDE.[1]
Robson was born inGuam to American father Gary Robson, a professor at the college of education (applied linguistics) atSt. Petersburg College, andChinese mother Yee-chen, a kindergarten teacher atCountry Day School.[2] They later moved toLargo, Florida and thenClearwater, Florida. As an only child, he learned chess from his father at age three.[3] He attended public school for kindergarten, then a public school for the gifted in first grade, then from grades 2-5 he was at a privateMontessori school. He startedhomeschooling in grade 6.
Robson said as a child that he wanted to become a professional chess player, and his parents hoped for him to gain a chess scholarship to college.[3][4] In April 2005, at the Super Nationals (the world's largest scholastic chess tournament) inNashville, Tennessee, he won every match he played and emerged as the national champion in the elementary age (K-6) division. By winning this title, he earned a four-year scholarship covering full tuition and fees, along with a housing stipend, to theUniversity of Texas at Dallas. The scholarship has a cash value of about $48,000 to non-Texas residents. The only stipulation is that the winner must meet the university's entrance requirements atmatriculation.[5] In 2009 Robson was the recipient of the Samford Fellowship.[6] In early 2012, Robson decided to attendWebster University instead of UT Dallas.[7]
In August 2012, Robson started his full-time study at Webster University inSt. Louis under the SPICE Program,[8][9] founded by former Women's World ChampionSusan Polgar.
Robson has won seven national scholastic titles, including regulation events and blitz events. In addition, he has represented the United States in international scholastic events since 2004. Robson finished in the top ten at each of theWorld Youth Chess Championships from 2004 to 2007, and he tied for first place in the U12 section of the Pan American Youth Chess Festival in 2005 and 2006, taking the silver medal on tiebreak on both occasions.[10][11]
Robson also plays in many of the major open tournaments in the United States. He finished in the top ten both at the 2006 National Chess Congress inPhiladelphia and at the 2006 North American Open inLas Vegas.[12] Robson's performance at the former event qualified him for the 2007U.S. Chess Championship, making him the youngest player in the history of the event.[citation needed]
In 2004, at the age of nine, Robson defeated his first National Master in tournament play.[citation needed] In 2005, he defeated his firstinternational master (IM), and in 2006 he defeated his firstgrandmaster (GM).[citation needed] He studied with GMGregory Kaidanov for almost two years[13] (2005–07), mainly via the phone and Internet. He has also studied with GMAlexander Onischuk.[14]
Robson was awarded the title ofFIDE Master (FM) in June 2005 after tying for first place at the Pan American Youth Festival in Brazil. He earned theUSCF title of National Master (NM) in January 2006 by raising hisElo rating above 2200. Robson earned the threenorms required for the IM title in only six weeks: the first at the 6th North American FIDE Invitational on November 3, 2007, inChicago, Illinois; the second on November 27 at the World Youth Championships inAntalya, Turkey, and the third and final norm on December 10 at theUniversity of Texas at Dallas (UTD) GM Invitational inDallas,Texas, making him the youngest IM-elect in the United States, beating the previous record-holderHikaru Nakamura by one month.[13]
Robson tied for first place in the 2008 Florida championship.[15] On July 16, 2009, he won the U.S. Junior Chess Championship.[16] In August 2009, Robson tied for first at the Arctic Chess Challenge inTromsø, Norway, garnering his first GM norm in the process.[17] Later that same month, Robson then went on to earn his second GM norm by winning the 23rd North AmericanFIDE Invitational inSkokie,Illinois.[18] He earned his third and final GM norm in October 2009 by winning thePan American Junior Chess Championship inMontevideo, Uruguay.[19] He was formally awarded the title by FIDE in January 2010.[20]
Robson played in his firstFIDE World Cup in November 2009 in Russia. He competed again in this eventtwo years later and was eliminated in the first round byÉtienne Bacrot.[21] Robson won the 2012 Webster University - SPICE Cup Open in St. Louis with an undefeated score of 7-2 .[22] In 2014, he finished second inMillionaire Chess in Las Vegas, losing toWesley So in the final round. In April 2015, Robson finished second in the 2015 U.S. Championship, held for the seventh consecutive year at theChess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis. He won five games, drew five, and lost one, scoring 7½/11 points.
Robson is the current (as of January 2024) five-timeChess.com Puzzle Battle World Champion, holding the title for five consecutive years from 2020 to 2024.[23] He won the 2023 tournament while only losing a single individual battle.[24] He crossedFIDE classical rating of 2700 in November 2022.[25]
| Achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Youngest ever United States International Master 2007–13 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Youngest ever United States Grandmaster 2009–14 | Succeeded by |