A teenage chess champion has been apprehended for assault after being an extremely poor loser.
17-year-old Christopher Yoo got heated at the United States Chess Championship in St Louis, Missouri, on Wednesday, after reigning champion GM Fabiano Caruana destroyed him during their match.
Chess champion loses his cool after getting owned
Yoo was caught on video scrunching his score sheet, after he was left with a single point from the first five rounds the pair played.
The angry teenager stomped out of the hall and allegedly struck a video operator in the back.
Consequently, the St. Louis Chess Club expelled him from the tournament and imposed a ban for breaching their conduct code and the U.S. Chess safe place guidelines.
According to the U.S. Chess Federation, Yoo now faces charges of fourth-degree assault and has been released to his parents after his arrest.
Results from the tournament involving Yoo are now voided, with upcoming opponents granted byes, per the federation’s decision.
Authorities confirmed that Yoo struck the 24-year-old woman in the back with his fist and his case will go through the juvenile court system.
Chess champion apologizes after assault
In a statement, Yoo said he was “very sad” about his actions during the incident, and that he hoped his victim was “okay.”
“I’m really sorry for hitting the videographer,” the chess prodigy stated. “I was disappointed losing the game to Caruana and lost my temper. That’s no excuse, I know.”
Yoo explained that he wished he could “go back and undo it,” but will accept the consequences of his actions.
“All I can do is to be better from now on. I promise that this won’t happen again,” he added.
The St. Louis Chess Club issued a statement on social media outlining their swift response to aid the videographer and involve the police.
“Chief arbiter Chris Bird expelled Yoo from the tournament due to the gross violations of our code of conduct and the US Chess safe play policy,” the organization announced.
“We take player conduct seriously and do not tolerate violations of our standards,” they said about banning Yoo.
Teenage prodigy’s parents shocked about his actions
According to the chess prodigy’s parents, he has personally apologized to the videographer, who they referred to as an “innocent victim” that did not provoke the attack.
Our son regrets his behavior deeply,” they wrote in a Facebook post. “He’s saddened and embarrassed by his actions.”
“Christopher offers no excuses for his behavior. He is just very sad and ashamed he behaved in that way,” Yoo’s parents insisted.
They noted that he “understands something like this can never happen again and never should of happened in the first place.”
The parents voiced shock over their son’s actions and highlighted their commitment to ensuring his mental health is properly addressed to prevent future incidents.
“Something like this has never happened before and he will be getting therapy to help make sure his mental well-being is properly cared for and that something like this will not happen again,” they concluded.
The teenager, then only 15, became a chess Grandmaster in 2022.
