- Chess grandmaster Christopher Yoo, 17, was banned from the 2024 U.S. Championships after having an outburst
- The teenager “crumpled his scoresheet, stormed out of the tournament hall, and struck a videographer from behind” after losing to Fabiano Caruana on Oct. 16, the Saint Louis Chess Club alleged on X
- “I am really sorry for what I did. It was a serious mistake,” Yoo has since said
A 17-year-old chess grandmaster was expelled from the 2024 U.S. Championships after having an outburst when he lost a game in St. Louis.
After being defeated by now-four-time U.S. chess champion Fabiano Caruana on Wednesday, Oct. 16, Christopher Yoo “crumpled his scoresheet, stormed out of the tournament hall, and struck a videographer from behind,” the Saint Louis Chess Club, where the incident occurred, alleged in an Oct. 17 statement on X(formerly known as Twitter).
The venue claimed “immediate assistance” was provided to the videographer and the police were called, according to the statement.
“Chief arbiter Chris Bird expelled Yoo from the tournament due to gross violations of our code of conduct and the U.S. Chess Safe Play Policy. The Saint Louis Chess Club fully supports this decision and has banned Yoo from the club,” the message added.
Per The Independent, local NBC affiliate KSDK and Sports Illustrated, Yoo was arrested and charged with fourth-degree assault before being released back to one of his parents.
KSDK reported a 24-year-old woman had been struck in the back, adding the matter would now be handled in juvenile courts.
The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and U.S. Chess Federation didn’t immediately respond when contacted by PEOPLE.
The club confirmed at the time that “Yoo’s results from rounds 1-5 [would] be annulled,” adding that “the tournament standings will be adjusted accordingly.”
“Players scheduled to face Yoo in the remaining rounds will receive a bye, granting them an additional rest day,” the venue stated, per the statement.
“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,” the post concluded.
U.S. Chess added in a statement obtained by PEOPLE, “Physical violence is unacceptable at any U.S. Chess event, and we appreciate the swift response of the tournament staff and the Saint Louis Chess Club in handling this incident.”
“The Safe Play complaint process has been initiated and is confidential until the Executive Board issues a final decision,” the message stated.
Yoo has since issued an apology, per a message shared on the U.S. Chess Federation website and his parents’ Facebook page on Monday, Oct. 21.
His parents wrote, “Christopher is not good with words and expressing emotions, but his remorse is very real.”
The message from Yoo read, “I am really sorry for hitting the videographer. 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 for my actions,” he added.
“All I can do is to be better from now on. I promise that this won’t happen again,” Yoo continued. “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.”
In a previous post shared on Friday, Oct. 18, Yoo’s parents said their son wanted “to publicly apologize to the female videographer that was an innocent victim of his anger after his loss of a chess game,” adding that she’d done “nothing to provoke” Yoo.
They also said Yoo would be “getting therapy to help make sure his mental well-being is properly cared for and that something like this will not happen again.”
According to Chess.com, Yoo became the youngest American master at age 9 in 2016, before nabbing the International Master title at age 12 until he was surpassed by Abhimanyu Mishra.
