In Chess Master's Double Life, Young Students Are Pawns

Growing up, Robert Snyder was a chess prodigy, and his community recognized his gift. He'd picked up the game by the age of 12, and by 18, he was winning tournaments.

As his talents -- and the chess education business he started -- grew, so did his reputation for teaching kids to love the ancient game, just as he had.

Snyder became a well-known chess instructor, mainly teaching children, but cops say he also worked for famous actors like Will Smith and Nicolas Cage. 

Over time, he published several books about the game, and ran an active chess Web site devoted to his work.  Snyder set up his business in the foothills of Ft. Collins, Colo.

As he made more money, cops say he spent a small fortune on gleaming new cars, jewelry and prized, collectible chess pieces.

"He was fantastic, was very brilliant when sitting at a chess board, very brilliant," his former wife, who does not want to be identified, told AMW.

"He could speak to them in their language, connect with them, teach them, move them along in their development and their strategies," she said.

"[He] had an exceptional way of connecting with the kids on their level, like any good teacher, like any good coach," said a parent of a former pupil.

Cops say Snyder's skills in a chess match or his motivation to teach others the game he had mastered was overtaken by a sick desire. 

Police tell AMW that Snyder was, in reality, a child molester, drawn to assaulting his students.

He used his business to get close to the kids who would become his targets, police have said. He is a natural-born predator, they say, and his trap to ensnare innocent children is more devious than any of the moves he ever made on the chess board.

Police say Snyder took advantage of one child after he befriended the child's mother at chess tournaments, and she eventually became his wife.

This, cops allege, allowed Snyder to spend more time with the young boy, taking him out of the state on trips, and over a four-month period, sexually molesting him and training him to be his sex slave.

Eventually the child got up the courage to tell his mother that he did not want to go out of town with Snyder any more, and that he wanted her to always be with him. 

The child's mom knew there was a problem, but she wasn't sure exactly what. The mom even questioned her child about Snyder touching him inappropriately, but the young boy was too traumatized to speak up.

"I didn't want to get hurt, I didn't want my mother to get hurt, I didn't want my brother and father to get hurt," the molestation survivor, who AMW will not identify, said.

Snyder and the child's mom separated after she wouldn't let Snyder alone with her son again. She says Snyder became extremely agitated.

Finally, after one long year, the child couldn't keep it inside, and the truth came out: the boy told a therapist that Robert Snyder had indeed sexually molested him.

Snyder probably thought he'd gotten away with it, and cops say he was already working his sick moves on another unsuspecting victim at one of his weekend chess camps.

After Snyder's divorce, investigators say a weekend retreat at his home in 2005 was the perfect ruse in which to molest yet another young child.

Police say 14 kids were at Snyder's home for the weekend. The children were supposed to be paired up to sleep in separate rooms, but Snyder had two young boys sleep in his own bedroom.

Over the course of the night, after one child fell asleep, cops say Snyder coaxed the other young boy onto his bed and molested him.

At the end of the workshop, the child went home, and told his parents what happened.

Snyder Serves His Time, But Skips Out On Subsequent Sentence

On Sept. 13, 2005, Snyder was arrested. He reached a plea agreement with prosecutors, and Snyder pled guilty to two misdemeanor counts of unlawful sexual conduct, and agreed to a two-year term in a Larimer County, Colo. lockup.

He began to serve his sentence in January 2007. On Aug. 24, 2008, Snyder was released from jail and was supposed to register as a sex offender and meet with his probation officer. He did neither and has been on the run ever since.

Snyder was supposed to be on probation for a period of 10 years, and he was required to register as a sex offender every 90 days. He hasn't been seen since his release more than a year ago, and when he is found, he could face another decade behind bars.

This conviction is not Snyder's first run-in with the law: in 1983, Snyder was tried in California for molesting an 11-year-old boy, but with the help of a skilled attorney, Snyder was acquitted of those charges.

Cops: Watch For Chess Champ's Signature Threads

You may be able to spot Snyder by the clothes he wears.

"We met him at the state tournament in February, and up until September I saw him in just one outfit, every time," one parent told AMW. "I attributed that to every time we saw him was part of a chess event for his club. I then since realized that he wore that uniform everyday, everywhere."

"It was black pants, tucked into black boots, they kind of look like riding boots, a satin royal blue jacket with his logo on it, and then a light blue polo shirt," the parent said. "He had all of his kids wear the same, a jacket or shirt, and then hats with his logo."

AMW Capture #1096

Checkmate: Tip Leads To Endgame For Chess Master

Cops in Fort Collins, Colo,. tell AMW that convicted child molester Robert Snyder is finally back behind bars – and that he was up to his old tricks when they found him Dec. 4, 2009.

Authorities say they had received two reliable tips through both the AMW Hotline and AMW.com saying Snyder had set up shop in Belize.

They say he was tutoring children in chess at Hummingbird Elementary school in Belize City.

“There were two tips that we got through AMW,” said Sgt. Paul Wood of the Fort Collins Police Department. “The night of the show, a man who was in jail with Snyder said that he had mentioned going to Belize once he got out. The next day, we received a credible tip from somebody whose child was enrolled at the elementary school where Snyder taught in Belize City. The person gave a physical description of what he looked like, with an alias of ‘Augustine Rios.’ Sure enough, that was our guy.”

Police tell AMW that they searched the elementary school’s Web site and found a link to a Belizean chess association.

Lo and behold, a picture of Snyder sitting across a chess board from a young boy flashed up on the computer screen.

They say there was no doubt in their mind, and Fort Collins police then dispatched U.S. Marshals to work with Belizean authorities to take Snyder down.

Cops say the story gets even better though: Reports indicate that Snyder married a Belizean police officer after he skipped town.

“The Assistant Superintendent of Police was the one who arrested Snyder,” said Sgt. Wood. “You generally wouldn’t have somebody that high in the ranks going to arrest someone unless he did, in fact, have ties to this Belizean police officer.”

Authorities say Snyder admitted who he was once taken into custody and that he knew he was wanted in the United States.

“He didn’t resist arrest, and there were no problems,” said Sgt. Wood. “That’s not the type of personality Snyder is anyway.”

Police believe that Snyder had been in Belize close to 15 months and went there almost immediately after getting paroled and failing to register as a sex offender.

“He may have gone to Mexico first, then went to Belize,” said Sgt. Wood. “Snyder doesn’t speak Spanish,  and we suspect he chose Belize because it is an English-speaking country.”

Cops say the airing of Robert Snyder on America’s Most Wanted on Nov. 28, 2009, was critical to this investigation which had hit a roadblock.

“Our leads were finished as far as this investigation was concerned,” said Sgt. Wood. “There was no way we would ever be able to tie Robert Snyder to Belize without the help of America’s Most Wanted."

Sgt. Wood goes on to say that his record with America’s Most Wanted is now “three-for-three” for the Fort Collins Police Department.

“For each of the three fugitives we’ve had aired on AMW, three were captured,” said Sgt. Wood. “One was an alleged murderer and the other two, including Snyder, are alleged sex offenders. We couldn’t have a better track record with that. This is fantastic for our department and we look forward to working with America’s Most Wanted in the future.”

The apprehension of convicted child molester Robert Snyder marks capture number 1096 for America's Most Wanted.

Convicted Sex Offender Pleads Guilty To New Charge

AMW capture Robert Snyder faces the possibility of spending the rest of his life in prison. The convicted sex offender and chess master entered a guilty plea to a felony for failure to register as a sex offender on Jan. 29, 2010.

"Mr. Snyder was originally charged with two counts of failure to register, but one count has since been dismissed," said Linda Jensen, public information officer for the Larimer County, Colo., Office of the District Attorney. "Judge Dave Williams will sentence Snyder to an indeterminate sentence where the Department of Corrections can decide if Snyder's eligible for parole, but he'll have to serve a minimum sentence of anywhere from two to 12 years. If the Department of Corrections decides Snyder isn't fit for release, Snyder could remain imprisoned indefinitely."

Jensen goes on to tell AMW that Robert Snyder's bond has since been revoked, so he'll have no opportunity to post bail. Jensen also says Snyder faces the possibility of being labeled a "sexually violent predator" unless psychological tests prove otherwise.

There’s still a possibility that parents of previous victims may get to speak at the sentencing hearing.

"There's a good likelihood that they'll speak with the judge when the time comes to sentence Mr. Snyder," said Jensen.

Robert Snyder is due to be sentenced at 11 a.m. on March 20, 2010.

- by Jenny Allen, AMW Staff