international master
Which title was conferred to Ray Robson in 2010?
Ray Robson Ray Robson ( born October 25 , 1994 ) is an American chess player . He was awarded the title of Grandmaster by FIDE in 2010 . Robson fulfilled the requirements for the title in 2009 at the age of 14 years , 11 months and 16 days . Early life . Robson was born in Guam to Gary Robson , a professor at the college of education ( applied linguistics ) at St . Petersburg College , and Yee-chen , a kindergarten teacher at Country Day School . They later moved to Largo , Florida and then Clearwater , Florida . As an only child , he learned chess from his father at age three . 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 private Montessori school . He started homeschooling 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 . In April 2005 , at the Super Nationals ( the worlds largest scholastic chess tournament ) in Nashville , 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 the University 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 universitys entrance requirements at matriculation . In 2009 Robson was the recipient of the Samford Fellowship . In early 2012 , Robson decided to attend Webster University instead of UT Dallas . In August 2012 , Robson started his full-time study at Webster University in St . Louis under the SPICE Program , founded by former Womens World Champion Susan Polgar . Chess career . 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 the World 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 . 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 in Philadelphia and at the 2006 North American Open in Las Vegas . Robsons performance at the former event qualified him for the 2007 U.S . Chess Championship , making him the youngest player in the history of the event . In 2004 , at the age of nine , Robson defeated his first National Master in tournament play . In 2005 , he defeated his first international master ( IM ) , and in 2006 he defeated his first grandmaster ( GM ) . He studied with GM Gregory Kaidanov for almost two years ( 2005–07 ) , mainly via the phone and Internet . He has also studied with GM Alexander Onischuk . Robson was awarded the title of FIDE Master ( FM ) in June 2005 after tying for first place at the Pan American Youth Festival in Brazil . He earned the USCF title of National Master ( NM ) in January 2006 by raising his Elo rating above 2300 ( the minimum required for the title ) . Robson earned the three norms required for the IM title in only six weeks : the first at the 6th North American FIDE Invitational on November 3 , 2007 , in Chicago , Illinois ; the second on November 27 at the World Youth Championships in Antalya , Turkey , and the third and final norm on December 10 at the University of Texas at Dallas ( UTD ) GM Invitational in Dallas , Texas , making him the youngest IM-elect in the United States , beating the previous record-holder Hikaru Nakamura by one month . Robson tied for first place in the 2008 Florida championship . On July 16 , 2009 , he won the U.S . Junior Chess Championship . In August 2009 , Robson tied for first at the Arctic Chess Challenge in Tromsø , Norway , garnering his first GM norm in the process . Later that same month , Robson then went on to earn his second GM norm by winning the 23rd North American FIDE Invitational in Skokie , Illinois . He earned his third and final GM norm in October 2009 by winning the Pan American Junior Chess Championship in Montevideo , Uruguay . He was formally awarded the title by FIDE in January 2010 . Robson played in his first FIDE World Cup in November 2009 in Russia . He competed again in this event two year later and was eliminated in the first round by Étienne Bacrot . Robson won the 2012 Webster University - SPICE Cup Open in St . Louis with an undefeated score of 7-2 . In 2014 , he finished second in Millionaire Chess in Las Vegas , losing to Wesley So in the final round . In April 2015 , Robson finished second in the 2015 U.S . Championship , held for the seventh consecutive year at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis . He won five games , drew five , and lost one , scoring 7½/11 points . External links . - Ray Robson chess games at 365Chess.com - Ray Robson team chess record at Olimbase.org - Ray Robson USCF profile - Play Like Ray! . Chess Life Online . USCF . December 10 , 2007 . - 2006 Spring Scholastic Championships , Part One . ChessCafe.com - Career highlights at 2009 US championship website - Interview at the 2009 World Cup website