I am happy to announce that Chess Child, the Story of Ray Robson, America’s Youngest Grandmaster, will come out in May. I will definitely have an early review on this blog. I cannot wait to read it.
This book is written by Gary Robson (a professor at St. Petersburg College in Florida), Ray’s Dad, who is an extremely devoted Chess Dad. Gary wrote this book in his own style, and he’s telling this fascinating story in his own words, uncensored, and unmodified by any publisher. He did it his own way.
Nipa Hut Press is proud to release its first book: Chess Child. The subject of the book, Ray Robson, is the youngest grandmaster to ever represent the United States. In addition to beating Bobby Fischer’s record as youngest grandmaster, Ray Robson is also the youngest recipient of the prestigious Samford Chess Fellowship, the youngest member of a US team in world team competition, and the youngest player to ever qualify for the US Chess Championship. Chess Child describes the development of Ray Robson from three-year-old chess player to 14-year-old grandmaster. More than just a biography, the book tells the story of a father and his struggle to adapt to meet the changing needs of his child.
Product Details
Price: $16 (Florida residents only: Sales Tax will be added into shipping costs)
Paperback: 307 pages
Publisher: Nipa Hut Press; 1st Edition (May 2010)
ISBN-13: 978-0-9826682-0-7
Dimensions: 8″ x 5.25″
First Page
About the author: Dr. Gary Robson started his career in education as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Philippines. Between 1987 and 1996, he taught K-12 students and trained teachers in Asia and Micronesia. Since 1996, Dr. Robson has worked in various educational settings within the United States. Although his area of expertise is ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages), he has worked with a variety of students and has taught multiple subjects in a number of settings. Chess Child is his first book. (Click http://nipahutpress.com to order).
I can certainly relate with Gary in many ways. As a former young chess prodigy from a loving and supportive family, we did things our own way, the Polgar way, usually against the “norm”, and without influence from chess politicians. Over three decades later, I am still independent and doing things in chess my way, with the highest level of success, from playing, organizing, coaching, writing, publishing, to promoting chess, as well as running SPICE at Texas Tech University, outside of the “good ol’ boy network”, and definitely chess politics free.
I strongly believe that Gary and Ray are approaching this the right way. Every child would be lucky to have the kind of support Ray has from his Dad Garry (as well as his Mom Yee-chen), Darwin Yang from his Dad Michael, Fabiano Caruana from his Dad Lou, or Magnus Carlsen from his Dad Henrik, etc. These are normal kids, with normal interest, well behaved, respectful, but a beast on the chess board.
I will post my full review soon.
Bravo Gary! Good job Susan. This is why you’re so popular. You’re not like most chess players who are only about themselves.
I look forward to reading this book. I think the story of Ray Robson and his family is a great and uniquely American story. It’s not for nothing we as a nation are known as the “great melting pot” of the world.
Jan Newton
This is gonna be a good book. When in May will it come out?
I don’t think a normal parent writes a book about their teenaged son.
If it’s for the money, I can understand; otherwise, I can’t square the writing of the book with Susan’s approval of the parenting.
That’s a lot of pressure to put on a kid, IMO.
Oh well, maybe he has a future in martial arts instruction, like some other chess prodigy whose father wrote a book about him…
Little ray was such a cute kid!
Love that photo..
Maybe Robson is more than normal. 🙂 Anyway, I think the pressure would be great if the book came out BEFORE young Robson became a GM. Bill Adams wrote about his son Michael, and David Short wrote about Nigel. Magnus’ father keeps a regular detailed blog. Although Waitzkin never became a GM, he certainly didn’t fail in life, and I have read that he and his father are still close to one another. I’ll read the book and judge for myself.
The book should be shipped to those who pre-order by, or before, the end of May.
Regarding the “normal” comment, I agree with the anonymous author that a book about a child by a parent could be construed as a form of exploitation. As the parent in question and the author, I can only say that I wrote the book in a way that is sensitive to my son, appreciative of his skills and work ethic, and critical of myself if I’m critical of anyone. I intended the book to serve both as an inspiration to chess players of any age and as an example of what a person can achieve when given appropriate support. By the way, Ray read the book well before I made any move towards publication. His own sensitive feedback was incorporated directly into the final version.
I think it’s a great idea to publish this book. Other parents can learn from Mr. Robson. Thank you.
I can not wait to read the book.