Christopher Yoo: My mom was concerned after my interview yesterday

Christopher Yoo scored his second consecutive victory in the US Chess Championship as he defeated Elshan Moradiabadi in today’s third round. Yoo joined the live studio for the post-game interview, analyzing the beautiful game he converted into a victory. Christopher then clarified his thoughts from yesterday’s interview in which he said that he felt disrespected on every level by Hans Niemann and that this feeling gave him extra energy to perform better in the tournament. “I felt like I maybe could have worded it better. I felt like [Hans Niemann’s] interview might have been a bit disrespectful, but I wouldn’t say I personally felt disrespected by it“, said the 15-year-old.

He added that he spent lot of time on social media checking the reactions after his interview: “I am aware of the comments. I could tell there are lot of people who are on my side and not on my side, and there is a lot of controversy behind it. It was a little bit distracting. Maybe I could have been better prepared if I didn’t keep checking the whole drama and what people were saying“. Speaking about what was the reaction of his parents after the interview he gave yesterday, Christopher revealed that his mother was concerned about the comments: “My dad was fine with it, but my mom was concerned. She was like why is everybody saying these bad things about me. I sort of expected it after I realized what I’ve said“. See the complete interview below