Trần Thanh Tú

Trần Thanh Tú is a Vietnamese chess player who represents Japan. He is the highest-rated Japanese chess player.

Chess career
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.

In 2013, Trần graduated from Can Tho University with an IT degree, and began working as a software developer.

In May 2015, Trần won the Vietnamese national men's singles fast chess championship, notably winning ahead of grandmasters Nguyễn Đức Hòa and Nguyễn Ngọc Trường Sơn.

In July 2015, Trần moved to Japan to work for an engineering company, and he also joined a chess club in the country.

In September 2016, Trần began representing Japan at the 42nd Chess Olympiad. In 2020, he was the team captain.

Trần has been the Japanese national champion in 2016, 2018, and 2020. He officially transferred federations from Vietnam to Japan in February 2020. In 2022, he finished second in the national championship to Mirai Aoshima, but represented Japan alongside him at the 44th Chess Olympiad.

Trần played in the Chess World Cup 2023, where he was defeated by David Paravyan in the first round.