.jpg) Trần Thanh Tú at the Japanese Chess Championship in 2016 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1990-09-12)September 12, 1990 (age 35) |
| Chess career | |
| Country |  Vietnam (until 2020) Japan (since 2020) |
| Title | International Master (2024) |
| FIDE rating | 2402 (February 2026) |
| Peak rating | 2430 (June 2025) |
Trần Thanh Tú is a Vietnamese chess player who represents Japan. He is the highest-rated Japanese chess player.
Trần grew up in a rural region and began playing chess around age 4 to 5 after being introduced to the game by his brothers.[1]
In 2013, Trần graduated fromCan Tho University with an IT degree, and began working as a software developer.[1]
In May 2015, Trần won the Vietnamese national men's singles fast chess championship, notably winning ahead of grandmastersNguyễn Đức Hòa andNguyễn Ngọc Trường Sơn.[2]
In July 2015, Trần moved to Japan to work for an engineering company, and he also joined a chess club in the country.[1][3]
In September 2016, Trần began representing Japan at the42nd Chess Olympiad. In 2020, he was the team captain.[1]
Trần has been theJapanese national champion in 2016, 2018, and 2020. He officially transferred federations from Vietnam to Japan in February 2020.[4] In 2022, he finished second in the national championship toMirai Aoshima, but represented Japan alongside him at the44th Chess Olympiad.[5]
Trần played in theChess World Cup 2023, where he was defeated byDavid Paravyan in the first round.[6]
In September 2024, he played for Japan in the45th Chess Olympiad, where he defeated a number of grandmasters:Ádám Kozák,Ahmad Al-Khatib, andVignir Vatnar Stefansson. Upon these achievements, he was awarded the International Master title, having previously been the world's highest-rated Candidate Master.
