A 17-year-old chess superstar has been arrested after a violent outburst that led to his expulsion from the U.S. Chess Championship in St. Louis on Wednesday.
Christopher Yoo had been beaten by defending champion Fabiano Caruana but appeared to react angrily to the defeat and was seen in a video published online crumpling his scoresheet after the match, with the teenager left with just one point from his first five games. .
He allegedly stormed out of the video room before punching a videographer in the back.
The St. Louis Chess Club subsequently expelled Yoo from the tournament and banned him from the facility for his “gross violation of the Code of Conduct and the U.S. Chess Safe Place Policy.”
The U.S. Chess Federation claims the 17-year-old was charged with assault and later released into the care of his parents. The organization adds: ‘His case will be dealt with in the juvenile justice system.’
According to police, Yoo hit the woman, who was 24 years old, in the back with his fist.
His results from the event will now be annulled, with the US Chess Federation adding that the players who were due to play against him will now be given a bye.
Yoo has since released a statement following the incident, admitting he regrets hitting the videographer and claiming he was “very sad about what I did,” before adding, “I hope it goes well with the videographer.’
“I’m really sorry for hitting the videographer,” he said. ‘I was disappointed to lose the match to Caruana and lost my patience. That’s no excuse, I know.
Christopher Yoo (left) was arrested after a violent incident during the US Chess Championships
The 17-year-old allegedly punched a videographer at the event after losing a match
‘I’m really sorry for what I did. It was a serious mistake. Every day I wish I could go back in time and undo it, but I can’t. I’m very sad about what I did and I hope the videographer is okay. I know it’s not acceptable to do what I did. I accept the consequences of my actions.
‘All I can do is get better from now on. I promise this won’t happen again.
‘Good luck to Caruana. I’m sorry this happened after our match. And good luck to the other players and best wishes to the St. Louis Chess Club.”
ST Louis Chess Club also took to social media to issue a statement on the incident.
“The St. Louis Chess Club immediately provided assistance to the videographer and called police who responded,” the statement said.
“Head Referee Chris Bird has expelled Yoo from the tournament for gross violations of our Code of Conduct and the US Chess Safe Play Policy.
“The Saint Louis Chess Club fully supports this decision and has banned Yoo from the club.”
The statement added: ‘We take player behavior seriously and will not tolerate breaches of our standards. We acted quickly to address this situation and ensure a respectful and safe environment for everyone involved in the tournament.”
His parents had also spoken out about the incident online, stating that their son had issued a personal apology to the videographer.
“First and foremost, Christopher would like to publicly apologize to the female videographer who was an innocent victim of his anger after losing a chess game,” the statement said.
“Contrary to what some have claimed, the videographer did nothing to provoke Christopher. We’ve heard she’s doing well, but we don’t have any details and we’re praying she’s doing well both physically and emotionally. Her well-being is a major concern for all of us.
“Christopher makes no excuses for his behavior. He is just very sad and ashamed that he behaved that way. If you saw him tearfully apologize to the club’s executive director, you would understand that he is genuinely remorseful.
The St. Louis Chess Club has since released a statement on the incident, saying Yoo has been banned from the event
“Although he did not have an opportunity to speak with the videographer after the incident, he sent her a personal apology through the executive director. Christopher understands that something like this can never happen again and should never have happened in the first place. He would also like to apologize to tournament officials, the Saint Louis Chess Club, his fellow players in the tournament, US Chess and anyone inside and outside the chess community who may have been affected. He accepts full responsibility for what happened and the possible consequences.”
The parents added that they were shocked by the incident before expressing their ‘deepest apologies’ to everyone affected by the incident.
“Many people have expressed concerns about the mental well-being of our 17-year-old son. As parents we more than share their concerns. ‘Nothing like this has ever happened before and he is receiving therapy to ensure his mental wellbeing is well looked after and that something like this will not happen again.
‘As his parents, we are still in shock by this turn of events and are trying to figure out how we could have prevented this. As his father and primary ‘chess parent’, I feel a special responsibility for the impact this has had on an innocent videographer, my son and everyone affected by this incident, and I deeply apologize to Christopher’s parents.
“PS Christopher is drafting his own apology and will release it as soon as it is ready.”
Yoo was born in California in 2006 and is touted as one of the brightest young talents in the sport. He made history by becoming the youngest International Master in US history in 2019, before being surpassed by Abhimanyu Mishra that same year.
The chess world has been rocked by several unsavory headlines in recent years.
In August, a chess champion, Amina Abakarova, 43, was seen in a video appearing to smear mercury on a set of chess pieces to poison her rival ahead of a match in Dagestan.
Yoo then threw part of his scorecard on the table as a steward urged him to calm down
He then got up and appeared to storm away from the table where he was playing
It comes after Magnus Carlsen accused his rival Hans Niemann of cheating. The latter was cleared of the charges before he sued Carlsen for ruining his career.
Carlsen has since complained again about cheating in the sport in 2023 after facing Alisher Suleymenov. He claimed that his opponent was wearing a watch that made him lose concentration.
In an update he continues: ‘I did ask a referee during the match whether watches were allowed, and he made it clear that smartwatches were prohibited, but analogue watches were not. This appears to be against FIDE rules for events of this magnitude.”