Teenage chess grandmaster arrested after alleged assault

A 17-year-old chess superstar has been arrested after following a violent outburst that led to him being expelled from the United States Chess Championship in St Louis on Wednesday.

Christopher Yoo had been beaten by defending champion GM Fabiano Caruana but appeared to react angrily to the defeat and was seen in a video published online scrunching up his score sheet after the match, with the teenager being left with only one point from his opening five games.

He is said to have stormed out of the video hall, before being alleged to have hit 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 code of conduct and the US chess safe place policy.'

The US Chess Federation claim that the 17-year-old was charged with fourth-degree assault and was later released to the custody of his parents. The organisation adds 'his case will be handled in the juvenile justice system.'

Police have said Yoo struck the woman, who was aged 24, in the back with his fist.

His results from the event will now be annulled with the US Chess Federation adding that those players who were due to face him will now receive a bye.

Yoo has since released a statement following the incident and admitting his remorse at hitting the videographer claiming that he was 'very sad for what I did' before adding 'I hope the videographer is OK.'

'I am really sorry for hitting the videographer,' he said. 'I was disappointed losing the game to Caruana and lost my temper. That's no excuse, I know.

'I am 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 am very sad for what I did and I hope the videographer is OK. I know that it’s not acceptable to do what I did. I accept the consequences of my actions.

'All I can do is to be better from now on. I promise that this won't happen again.

'Best of luck to Caruana. I am sorry this happened after our game. And best of 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 the police who responded,' the statement read.

'Cheif 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 Saint Louis Chess Club fully supports this decision, and has banned Yoo from the club.'

The statement adds: 'We take player conduct seriously and do not tolerate violations of our standards. We acted swiftly to address this situation, ensuring a respectful and safe environment for everyone involved in the tournament.'

His parents had also spoken out on the incident online, stating that their son had issued a personal apology to the videographer.

'First and foremost, Christopher wants to publicly apologize to the female videographer who was an innocent victim of his anger after his loss of a chess game,' the statement read.

'Contrary to what some have suggested, the videographer did nothing to provoke Christopher. We heard she’s doing okay but we don’t have any details and we pray she is doing well both physically and emotionally. Her well-being is of deep concern to all of us.

'Christopher offers no excuses for his behavior. He is just very sad and ashamed he behaved in that way. If you saw him tearfully apologize to the Executive Director of the Club you’d understand he is genuinely remorseful.

'Though he hasn’t had an opportunity to talk to the videographer after the incident, he has sent her a personal apology via the Executive Director. Christopher understands something like this can never happen again and never ever should 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 everyone in and outside the chess community this may have affected. He accepts full responsibility for what happened and the potential consequences.'

The parents went on to add that they were shocked by the incident before expressing their 'deepest apologies' to all those who had been 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 concern. '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.

'As his parents, we are still in shock at this turn of events and soul-searching as to how we could have prevented this. As his father and main 'chess parent' I feel a particular responsibility for how this has impacted an innocent videographer, my son, and everyone this incident has touched and I deeply apologize - Christopher’s Parents.

'P.S. Christopher is drafting his own apology and will release it when it’s ready.'

Yoo was born in 2006 in California and has been touted as one of the brightest young prospects in the sport, having made history by becoming the youngest International Master in American history in 2019, before he was surpassed by Abhimanyu Mishra that same year.

The world of chess has been rocked by several unsavoury 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 contest in Dagestan.

It comes after Magnus Carlsen accused his rival Hans Niemann of cheating. The latter had been cleared of the allegations, before suing Carlsen for ruining his career.

Carlsen has since complained again about cheating in the sport in 2023 after he faced off against Alisher Suleymenov. He had claimed his opponent was wearing a watch that made him lose his concentration.

In an update, he continued: 'I did ask an arbiter during the game whether watches were allowed, and he clarified that smartwatches were banned, but not analog watches. This seems to be against FIDE rules for events of this stature.'