Absolute Player Bios

Bio from Dec. 1997. Rob is 42 years old and married, with two children, Jennifer age 9 and Ricky age 3. Rob resides in a well-known town named Staunton, about which he receives many comments! Rob has not only excelled in chess but also has a BA degree in Business Administration and a minor in Computer Science.

Rob learned chess at the age of 8 while watching his older brother play. Rob and his twin brother Rick (who has a correspondence chess rating of 2347), played chess just about every day until they began competitive chess while attending Virginia Commonwealth University in 1975. Occasionally Rick and Rob still beat each other up with some casual play!

Rob obtained his USCF OTB Master title in 1987. Soon after, Rob's good friend, International Master Richard Callaghan, introduced Rob to correspondence chess. Rob's main objective for playing CC was to improve his OTB chess. It wasn't too long after that Rob obtained a Senior Master title. Rob has also competed in two of USCF's Absolute Championship events.

In addition to chess, Rob also enjoys running, tennis, racquetball and golf. Rob has completed six marathons including the 1997 New York City Marathon. Although Rob does not have much time to devote just to chess, he continues to enjoy it as one of his many hobbies.