A year-old interview with Grandmaster Yağız Kaan Erdoğmuş has resurfaced and sparked a wide discussion in the chess community. In it, his father explains that the family once lacked the funds to chase title norms and had to give up on chess, and that the decision came with tears. A sponsor later stepped in and funded Yağız's journey.
The interview
The conversation is a Q&A session with Yağız, recorded at the Çeşme Open and published on the tournament's YouTube channel on 27 June 2025. It runs just over 48 minutes. The passage in question begins around the 26-minute mark (the player above starts there), where Yağız's father answers one of the audience questions in detail.
The video is in Turkish. YouTube offers English subtitles only through automatic translation, which, as the Reddit user who shared it put it, works okay but not great.
What the discussion says
The video was posted on Reddit's r/chess community under the title Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus's dad says they had to give up on chess due to financial difficulties. The thread's most upvoted comments added some context:
- One commenter noted that the interview predates Yağız's main sponsor, Evren Ucok, a self-made Turkish businessman, and that Yağız no longer has financial problems thanks to that support.
- Another reader summarised the video as describing 2023: Yağız was then a 12-year-old International Master rated above 2450, yet his father could not find a sponsor, and the two decided to quit chess completely.
- Others pointed out that professional chess depends heavily on private backers, that this is true of many sports, and that family resources shape how far a young player can go.
- A different comment said it was moving when Yağız's father spoke about how much of his childhood the boy had given up for chess, with its norms and constant travel.
These are the opinions of the commenters, not verified statements. The only primary source here is the interview itself.
Why it matters
Yağız's rise is one of the biggest stories in world chess right now, and this interview is a reminder of how close it came to never happening. A 12-year-old with a 2450 rating is the kind of talent every chess federation hopes for. Even so, the cost of travel, tournament fees and coaching nearly ended the path before it began.
That is the reason Satranç Okulu follows young talents like Yağız and writes about the people who support them. When families and sponsors can stand behind a gifted child at the right moment, the result can be history-making. Read more in our earlier report, Yağız Kaan Erdoğmuş Will Make History if Supported.
Sources
Söyleşi&Soru Cevap, Çeşme Open (YouTube); discussion on r/chess: Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus's dad says they had to give up on chess due to financial difficulties.
