The troubling saga of young U.S. GM Christopher Woojin Yoo has taken another dark turn — right on the heels of the promising American junior’s most impressive achievement to date over the chessboard.
The 18-year-old Yoo, who is already serving a one-year ban on U.S. Chess Federation events after he assaulted a female videographer after a painful loss in the November U.S. national championships, was hit Friday with a 60-day suspension by FIDE, the international chess federation, for allegedly harassing a female player repeatedly at the recent Sardinia Chess Festival. The investigation of Yoo’s conduct could lead to an even longer sanction, officials said.
Yoo was only able to compete in Sardinia because the USCF ban did not extend to international events, but now American chess officials have said they are preparing to seek a blanket ban on competition for the California player.
Yoo and his family have apologized for the U.S. championship incident and said the young GM, ranked among the country’s top junior players, was seeking counseling. Mr. Yoo’s father, in a statement to Chess.com, did not deny the new reports from Sardinia but expressed disappointment that the family had not been consulted before the suspension was imposed.
The reports are especially distressing because Yoo has shown such promise within the confines of the chessboard’s 64 squares. Even as the reported harassment incidents were occurring, Yoo was the strong Sardinia event’s surprise winner, sprinting out of the gate with 6½ points in the first seven rounds, including a wickedly complicated win over rising Indian junior GM Leon Luke Mendonca in Round 5.
In a complex Open Catalan, Yoo as Black tempts fate with 29. Ne5 Qc7, allowing Mendonca the dangerous-looking sacrifice 30. Nxg6!? (almost mandatory, as Black takes a clear edge on the retreat 30. Nf3 Kg7 31. Qc3 Nc5) fxg6 31 Qxg6+ Qg7 32. Qf5, exposing the Black king and threatening to obtain a third pawn for the lost knight.
White has a draw virtually in hand but goes astray pressing for more: 34. Rc2?! (see diagram; with 34. exd5 Qxd2 35. Qg6+, Mendonca can force a split point after 35…Kf8 36. Qxf6+ Kg8 37. Qg6+ Kf8 38. Qf6+, as 38…Ke8?? loses at once to 39. Qh8+) Rxb2! 35. Rxb2 Qc1+ 36. Kh2? (and here the engines say White could still stave off defeat with the unexpected 36. Bf1! Qxb2 37. exd5 Ncxd5 38. Qg5+ Kf8 39. Bxc4 Qd4 40. Bxd5 Nxd5 41. Qxh5) Qxb2, and 37. exd5 is met by 37…Qd4!, keeping an eye on the White d-pawn while preparing the Black c-pawn to advance.
With Black’s knights locked in an unbreakable defensive bond, White must sacrifice his bishop to stop Yoo’s advancing passed pawns. After 49. Qcd3 Qxh5, the players reach a rare endgame configuration where Black is pawnless but two pieces up while White has a queen and three connected passers. Unfortunately for Mendonca, the knights are natural blockaders and the pawns can never advance in unison, even as White’s king faces ever-growing peril.
While theoretically, two knights and a king can deliver mate when one’s opponent has pawns on the board, Yoo wisely prefers the more straightforward mating approach. With 69 Kg1 Nxg4, one pawn falls, and in the end, Black’s massed firepower prevails: 74 Kg2 Qd2+ 75 Kg3 Qg5 (the Black pieces align for the final assault) 76. Qh1+ Nh5+ 77. Kf3 Qxf5+ 78. Ke2 Qc2+, and White resigned, facing 79. Ke1 (Kf3 Qc6+ picks off the queen) Qf2+ 80. Kd1 Ne3+ 81 Kc1 Qc2 mate.
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On a much brighter junior chess note, players from both Maryland and Virginia shone at the just-completed U.S. SuperNationals VIII scholastic championships in Orlando, Florida. The event, for players from kindergarten through 12th grade, featured yet another mammoth field, testifying to the health of the U.S. talent pipeline for years to come.
Maryland master Nitesh Cherukuri, a middle-schooler at the McDonogh School in Owings Mills, captured the national K-8 section, while Hampton Roads third-grader Lukas LeBakken took the K-3 tournament honors.
That young LeBakken plays a better game of chess than I ever did in kneepants can be seen in his quality win over Thomas Egelhof in Orlando, a game that does credit to both young participants.
It’s a kind of Queen’s Gambit Accepted with central exchanges making for wide open play. Egelhof takes an early positional trick on 12. f4?! Nb6 13. e5 Ng4!, forcing White to cede one of his bishops as 14. Qxg4 leaves the White bishop on c4 unprotected.
But LeBakken counterpunches with a tactical trick of his own, leading to sustained pressure by White on the Black set-up: 20. Nc6! bxc6 21. Qxb6 Rxd1+ 22. Rxd1, and Black has no time to capture the bishop as he deals with the mating threat of 23. Rd8+.
The sharp resulting position leaves both sides struggling for the advantage, with White breaking through on a final defensive slip by his opponent: 28. Bc4 Ba8? 29. f5?! (leaving the Black rook unprotected was a mistake but LeBakken fails to cash in; White now would be two clear pawns up on 29. Rxe6! fxe6 30. Bxe6+ Kh8 31. Bxc8 Bd5 32. Qd6! Qf7 33. a3) exf5 30. e6 — White’s thrust looks strong, but Black still can defend with 30…Kh7!, turning back 31. Rd7? (Black also retains a slight edge on 31. a3 fxe6 32. Rxe6 Qd7) with 31…Qf6 32. Rxf7 Qd4+ 33. Kf1 (Kh2?? Qf2+ 34. Kh3 Qg2 mate) Qxc4+.
Instead, while Black’s 30…Qb7? threatens mate on the move, unfortunately, it’s not his turn: 31. exf7+ Kh7 (Kf8 32. Rd8+ Rxd8 33. Qxd8 mate; or 31…Kh8 32. Rxh6+! gxh6 33. Qxh6 mate) 32. Qxb7 Bxb7 33. Re6! (now White’s advanced f-pawn proves the killer threat) Bc6 (Rf8 34. Re8 Ba6 35. Rxf8 Bxc4 36. Rh8+ Kxh8 38. f8+Q+ and wins) 34. Rxc6!, neatly removing the defender and winning major material; Black resigned.
(Click on the image above for a larger view of the chessboard.)
Mendonca-Yoo, Sardinia World Open, Orosei, Italy, April 2025
1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d5 3. c4 e6 4. g3 Be7 5. Bg2 O-O 6. O-O dxc4 7. Qc2 b5 8. a4 Bb7 9. axb5 a6 10. Nc3 axb5 11. Rxa8 Bxa8 12. Nxb5 Bd5 13. Bf4 c5 14. dxc5 Qa5 15. Nc3 Qxc5 16. Be3 Qc7 17. Rd1 Nc6 18. Bf4 Qb6 19. Nxd5 exd5 20. Ne5 Nd4 21. Be3 Bc5 22. Qd2 Ne6 23. Bxc5 Qxc5 24. e3 Rb8 25. h3 h5 26. Qc2 Qc7 27. Nf3 Qb6 28. Rd2 g6 29. Ne5 Qc7 30. Nxg6 fxg6 31. Qxg6+ Qg7 32. Qf5 Nc7 33. e4 Qh6 34. Rc2 Rxb2 35. Rxb2 Qc1+ 36. Kh2 Qxb2 37. e5 Nfe8 38. h4 Qd4 39. Qg5+ Kf8 40. Qf5+ Ke7 41. Bh3 Qe4 42. Qg5+ Kf7 43. Qxh5+ Qg6 44. Qf3+ Kg8 45. Bf5 Qf7 46. Kg2 d4 47. h5 d3 48. Bxd3 cxd3 49. Qxd3 Qxh5 50. Qc4+ Kg7 51. Qd4 Qf5 52. g4 Qe6 53. Kg3 Qc6 54. f4 Ne6 55. Qe3 N8c7 56. f5 Nd5 57. Qa7+ Nec7 58. Qd4 Qc1 59. Qe4 Qg1+ 60. Kh3 Kf8 61. e6 Nf6 62. Qb4+ Kg8 63. Qb8+ Nce8 64. Qg3 Qh1+ 65. Qh2 Qe4 66. Qg2 Qd3+ 67. Qg3 Qd1 68. Qf4 Kh7 69. Kg2 Nxg4 70. Qb4 Nef6 71. Qf4 Qe2+ 72. Kg1 Qe1+ 73. Qf1 Qe3+ 74. Kg2 Qd2+ 75. Kg3 Qg5 76. Qh1+ Nh5+ 77. Kf3 Qxf5+ 78. Ke2 Qc2+ White resigns.
LeBakken-Egelhof, U.S. SuperNationals K-3 Chess Championships, Orlando, Fla., May 2025
1. Nf3 d5 2. c4 Nf6 3. cxd5 Nxd5 4. e4 Nf6 5. Nc3 c5 6. Bc4 e6 7. d4 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Bc5 9. Be3 O-O 10. O-O Qe7 11. Qe2 Nbd7 12. f4 Nb6 13. e5 Ng4 14. Bb3 Nxe3 15. Qxe3 Rd8 16. Rfd1 a5 17. Ne4 a4 18. Nxc5 Qxc5 19. Rac1 Qe7 20. Nc6 bxc6 21. Qxb6 Rxd1+ 22. Rxd1 Bb7 23. Bc4 h6 24. g3 Rc8 25. Rd6 Rb8 26. h4 Rc8 27. Bd3 c5 28. Bc4 Ba8 29. f5 exf5 30. e6 Qb7 31. exf7+ Kh7 32. Qxb7 Bxb7 33. Re6 Bc6 34. Rxc6 Black resigns.
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