The Vibrants convincingly clinches Japan Team Chess Championship 2025
Japan Chess Federation hosted the 2025 edition of the annual Japan Teams Chess Championship, typically held in the pleasant weather of Autumn. When the Japan Open is held earlier in the year, the Teams event happens to be the last major event of the calendar year. This event holds a special memory, as the 2023 edition was my very first event as an arbiter. The experience led to bigger and better things, eventually leading to me becoming a FIDE Arbiter earlier this year. I may eventually want to play in this event, as well as arbitrate in future events. This year was the time to take a break and write about the event. Photo: Japan Chess Federation
The 2025 edition of Japan Team Chess Championship comprised of two categories, namely, the Open and the Group A. Group A consisted of teams with an average rating of less than 1400. Each team comprised of a maximum of five members, of which four played in any given round. Some teams had only four members. Overall, 38 teams participated in the Open, comprising 172 players, while 21 teams played in the U-1400 Group A, comprising 93 players.
The event was a 4-person team tournament, with 6 rounds of the Swiss system, with a time control of 30 minutes + 30 seconds increment per move from move 1. The 6 rounds were played over 2 days: November 1, and November 2, 2025. This was a Japan National rated tournament.
Top team seeds in the Open section were Osaka Tigers, followed by Azabu OB, and Hongo Chess no Kai, with average ratings of 2185, 2161, and 2148 respectively. Many clubs fielded multiple teams, spread over the two categories. 15 Titled players played the event, with the top seeds being the well-known names, FM Aoshima Mirai, IM Nanjo Ryosuke, IM Kojima Shinya, FM Bibby Simon and FM Yamada Kohei.
Prizes:
Open:
Team Prize: 1st 50000 yen, 2nd 40000 yen, 3rd 30000 yen, 4th 25000 yen, 5th 20000 yen
Japan Collegiate Chess Federation member circles: 1st 20000 yen
Board Prizes: Total of 4 winners with the highest score on each board (1 to 4): 5000 yen and Chessmood prizes.
Group A
Team Prize: 1st 30000 yen, 2nd 25000 yen, 3rd 20000 yen, 4th 15000 yen, 5th 10000 yen
Japan Collegiate Chess Federation member circles: 1st 10000 yen
Board Prizes:
Total of 4 winners with the highest score on each board (1 to 4): 3000 yen and Chessmood Prizes.
A single team cannot receive both Team prize and Japan Collegiate Chess Federation member circle prize.
Participation prizes for all elementary school students and under.
The Vibrants won the Open event with 5 wins and a draw scoring 11 points out of a possible 12, while Hongo Chess no Kai ended second and Osaka Tigers third on tie-break, tied at 10 points with 5 wins and a loss each.
Keio A team won the Group A event with a 6-0-0 sweep, scoring all 12 points, whereas tied at 9 points, placed second and third respectively on tie-breaks were Minamoto Chess, and Kyodai Chess Circle B teams.
Board prizes:
Board 1:
# | Name | Team | Score |
1 | FMYamada Kohei | Setouchi Chess Club A | 6/6 |
2 |
FM Otsuka Shou |
Yokogawa Chess Club 1 |
6/6 |
3 |
IM Nanjo Ryosuke |
Hongo Chess no Kai |
5.5/6 |
Board 2:
# |
Name |
Team |
Score |
1 |
Yonemitsu Kohei |
L’avenir |
5/6 |
2 |
Murygin Dmitry |
Anthropotelos |
5/6 |
3 |
Moritani Sho |
The Vibrants |
4.5/5 |
Board 3:
# |
Name |
Team |
Score |
1 |
Yokoyama Tomoki |
The Very Strength |
6/6 |
2 |
Matsuyama Koya |
The Vibrants |
5/6 |
3 |
Kuwata Susumu |
Azabu OB |
5/6 |
Board 4:
# |
Name |
Team |
Score |
1 |
CM Matsuo Tomohiko |
Osaka Tigers |
5/6 |
2 |
Matsunaga Toma |
The Vibrants |
4.5/6 |
3 |
Furuse Mizuki |
L’avenir |
4.5/6 |
Board 1:
# |
Name |
Team |
Score |
1 |
Okuno Rion |
ISAK Chess Club |
5.5/6 |
2 |
Onuma Kota |
Azabu Chess Club |
5.5/6 |
3 |
Aso Masashi |
Machida Stronghold |
5/6 |
Board 2:
# |
Name |
Team |
Score |
1 |
Mitsunami Sohki |
Keio B |
5.5/6 |
2 |
Sueyoshi Henna, Jose Luis |
Minamoto Chess |
5.5/6 |
3 |
Takenouchi Atsushi |
Keio A |
5/6 |
Board 3:
# |
Name |
Team |
Score |
1 |
Nagoe Yushun |
Keio A |
6/6 |
2 |
Okuda Haruto |
Kyodai Chess Circle B |
5/5 |
3 |
Horigome Taisei |
Keio B |
4/6 |
Board 4:
# |
Name |
Team |
Score |
1 |
De Moraes da Silva, Gabriel Keven |
Minamoto Chess |
5.5/6 |
2 |
Minegishi Kiyohisa |
Machida Knightmare |
5/6 |
3 |
Tran Trung Dung |
Keio A |
5/6 |
A special thanks to Tokyo Check Mates Chess Club, for providing their games and photos from the event. Tokyo Check Mates fielded 9 players over two teams in the Open section, viz, Tokyo Check Mates Kuro and Tokyo Check Mates Shiro, aptly named for a chess tournament (Kuro = black, Shiro = White). Kuro was the stronger of the two teams.
One of the best performances was the fifth place finish by “Tokyo Check Mates Kuro”. Led by their able captain Azizjon Mamatkulov (JPN) originally from Uzbekistan, this multi-nation, multi-lingual team comprising of Axel Martin from France, Vedat Erkoc from Turkey, and Thiele Leander from USA. Martin Axel from France tied with Azabu OB with a score of 9 points, with 4 wins, a draw and a loss.
Vedat Erkoc, and captain Azizjon Mamatkulov, scored 4/6 on boards 2 and 4. Both of them scored seventh place on tie-breaks in the board prizes (tied with four others).
Tokyo Check Mates is a very friendly, casual club, handled by Michael Hold, that meets on Wednesday evenings at Shibuya.
Kyoto University Chess Circle fielded two teams, one in the Open category and the other in Group A. Both the teams punched above their weight, with Kyodai Chess Circle finishing third on tie-breaks in Group A.
Yuya Yanai who has started a chess meetup in Kyoto, participated with team “Brilliant” and shared some photos.
Divine Chess Gurukul, a Gurukul style chess club run by Mr. Praveen Bhatia, which hosted the simul events by GM Swayams Mishra after the recent Japan Open 2025, also fielded two teams. “Brave Queens of Gurukul” - the team full of youngsters, became an excellent opportunity to gain experience in leadership, management and being a team player.
Photos
Photos from Tokyo Check Mates teams
Photos by Kyodai team
Replay few games
Final standings in Open
| Rk. | SNo | Team | Games | + | = | - | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | TB4 | TB5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | The Vibrants | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 19,5 | 0 | 77,5 | 245,8 |
| 2 | 3 | Hongo Chess no Kai | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 19 | 0 | 83,5 | 248 |
| 3 | 1 | Osaka Tigers | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 14,5 | 0 | 86,5 | 191,8 |
| 4 | 2 | Azabu OB | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 17,5 | 0 | 80 | 226 |
| 5 | 11 | Tokyo Check Mates Kuro | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 14,5 | 0 | 72,5 | 163,8 |
| 6 | 6 | L’avenir | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 17,5 | 0 | 77 | 208 |
| 7 | 4 | 8x8 Grill Masters | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 16,5 | 0 | 79,5 | 200,8 |
| 8 | 9 | Setouchi Chess Club A | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 14 | 0 | 83 | 182 |
| 9 | 37 | The Very Strength | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 13,5 | 2 | 89,5 | 195,8 |
| 10 | 17 | Kawasaki Chess Club | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 13,5 | 0 | 61,5 | 132,8 |
Final standings in Group A
| Rk. | SNo | Team | Games | + | = | - | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | TB4 | TB5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | Keio A | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 20,5 | 0 | 78 | 267,3 |
| 2 | 3 | Minamoto Chess | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 19 | 0 | 68 | 207 |
| 3 | 18 | Kyodai Chess Circle B | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 14 | 0 | 87,5 | 192,5 |
| 4 | 5 | Yokohama Rooks | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 15 | 0 | 73 | 143,3 |
| 5 | 10 | Machida Promotion | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 13,5 | 0 | 70,5 | 151,3 |
Links
About the Author
Mayur is an IT engineer and a chess enthusiast from Mumbai, working in Japan since 2013. He has played over-the-board tournaments in India, USA and Japan. He has also been a top three finisher in a one-day OTB events in Japan in 2013, 2015, 2017 and online blitz in 2020. Currently he is making use of online platforms for chess improvement and learning Ayurveda. He loves salsa dancing, reading, traveling and teaching.
