IM Tu Thanh Tran won the Japan Chess Championship which took place 2-6 May 2025 in Curian, Tokyo, Japan.
He scored an unbeaten 8/9 to finish 1.5 points ahead of the rest. Seven players scored 6.5/9. Out of them, Muxi Chen (CHN) and IM Ryosuke Nanjo secured second and third place according to tie-breaks. Photo: Sheldon Donaldson
L to R: JCF President – Hiroshi Manabe, 1st – IM Tu Thanh Tran and Mr. Eduardo Tempone, Argentine Ambassador to Japan.
Top row (L to R): JCF President Hiroshi Manabe, 6th Soichiro Yamamoto 6.5/9, 7th Rion Okuno 6.5/9, 8th Koya Matsuyama 6.5/9, 9th FM Kohei Yamada 6/9, 10th CM Atsuhiko Kobayashi 6/9 and Mr. Eduardo Tempone, Argentine Ambassador to Japan.
Bottom row (L to R): 4th – FM Shou Otsuka 6.5/9, 2nd Muxi Chen (CHN) 6.5/9, 1st IM Tu Thanh Tran 8/9, 3rd IM Ryosuke Nanjo 6.5/9 and 5th IM Shinya Kojima 6.5/9.
The Japan Chess Championship 2025 took place in Tokyo, Japan, Friday May 2nd through Tuesday May 6th. A total of 85 players from all over Japan competed in a 9 round swiss-system, to decide who would be crowned the champion of Japanese chess. A prize fund of 280,000 yen (~$1,900USD), with 100,000 yen (~$700USD) going to the winner, was up for grabs. Not to mention, a spot on the next Japanese Olympiad team.
Being ranked 67th in this field, meant that I was in contention for absolutely none of these laurels, and would have to satisfy myself with the humble goal of not losing every single game.
In truth, the chances of me losing every single game were rather slim, but my two prior entrées to this tourney had ended with a dismal 2.5 points over 9 rounds. My goal was simple… better than that!!
Yet, before we get to the tournament results, how about a few pics to prove that any of this happened.
IM Tu Thanh Tran’s laurels, include representing Japan at the Budapest Olympiad, where he defeated three GMs and gained his final norm to become an International Master.
