Ray Robson

Ray Robson has been a mainstay of American chess for half his life, making his debut on the national squad at the 2009 World Team Championship at the age of 15. This set a record (which still stands) as the youngest male player to represent the U.S. in such a competition. Robson was a member of the American Olympiad teams which won gold in 2016 and silver in 2018, 2021 and 2024, and bronze in 2020. He was also a member of the U.S. silver medal-winning team in the 2009 World Team Championship and a gold medal winner in the 2013 Pan American Team Championship.

Robson has consistently done well in the U.S. Championship. 2026 will be his 19th consecutive event, and in a streak starting with the 2011 tournament, he has only finished with a minus score three times! He was second on three separate occasions (2015, 2022 and 2024) and third in another (2020).

While he has not played much Classical chess in 2026, Robson had a successful performance in the Stepan Avagyan Memorial where he tied for third in a strong field.

Robson is a five-time Chess.com Puzzle Battle World Champion and has a peak FIDE rating of 2704.