Robert Michael Snyder (born May 4, 1954 [1]) is an American chess teacher, author, and convicted pedophile.
His first book, Sicilian 2 b3 (Snyder Sicilian) was published in 1983, in which 14 of the 75 analyzed games are from his own tournament experience. [2]
Snyder is best known for authoring the Chess For Juniors children's book series. He has published multiple books and games, including Chess for Everyone and Unbeatable Chess Lessons. [3] He founded the Chess for Juniors club, claiming it was the largest of its kind in the country, and that he trained 36 national chess champions, and holds a world record for having introduced chess to more than 170,000 students. [4] He is considered to be a national and world-renowned master chess player with wins both in the US and international tournaments. [5] [6] [7] Several of his students have excelled under his tutelage, with results including contention for world and US national chess titles. [8]
Snyder has an Elo rating of 2306 with the United States Chess Federation, but has not played in tournaments since 1990. [9]
Snyder has been arrested and convicted for multiple sexual assaults involving children dating back to 1983. [10] He was featured on America's Most Wanted after fleeing Colorado while still on supervised probation in 2008. [11] He was found in Belize, and on March 30, 2010, after pleading guilty, was given an open (up to life) sentence. [12]
Robert Michael Snyder (born May 4, 1954 [1]) is an American chess teacher, author, and convicted pedophile.
His first book, Sicilian 2 b3 (Snyder Sicilian) was published in 1983, in which 14 of the 75 analyzed games are from his own tournament experience. [2]
Snyder is best known for authoring the Chess For Juniors children's book series. He has published multiple books and games, including Chess for Everyone and Unbeatable Chess Lessons. [3] He founded the Chess for Juniors club, claiming it was the largest of its kind in the country, and that he trained 36 national chess champions, and holds a world record for having introduced chess to more than 170,000 students. [4] He is considered to be a national and world-renowned master chess player with wins both in the US and international tournaments. [5] [6] [7] Several of his students have excelled under his tutelage, with results including contention for world and US national chess titles. [8]
Snyder has an Elo rating of 2306 with the United States Chess Federation, but has not played in tournaments since 1990. [9]
Snyder has been arrested and convicted for multiple sexual assaults involving children dating back to 1983. [10] He was featured on America's Most Wanted after fleeing Colorado while still on supervised probation in 2008. [11] He was found in Belize, and on March 30, 2010, after pleading guilty, was given an open (up to life) sentence. [12]