Pre-Classic Rapid in Kyoto
- davidgn0
- 11 hours ago
- 4 min read
On 8 August, one day before the start of the (largest-ever, in player numbers) Japan Classic 2026, held in Osaka, Caissa Osaka Chess Club organised the "warming up" Pre-Classic FIDE Rated Rapid tournament in Kyoto. With well over 50 players it was full house.
Some of the strongest players in Japan joined alongside some up and coming local talents and a delegation of 12 Caissa Hong Kong Chess Club players who had traveled in to join both these tournaments.
The event was played over 6 rounds, with time control of 15 minutes + 3 seconds increment per move: so-called rapid play.
Due to some unfortunate logistical issue with the Caissa Hong Kong Team, their leading coach, IM Matthew Tan, had to support the arbiter and was not able to play. The top players were thus the local celebrities IM Nanjo Ryosuke and IM Kojima Shinya. Japan based CM Alex Averbukh, although he missed the 1st round, was of course also a force to reckon.
Rounds 1 and 2 showed little surprise. Almost without exception the higher rated players won their first two games.
Going into Round 3 there were 10 players with 2 points, including Caissa Osaka Chess Club branch manager Leonard Brinkmann! On Board 3 Oi Sosonuke did good business winning from the 130 points higher rated Matsuda Sota as did Rejold Baze beating the 130 higher rated U12 youth talent Noda Ryo.
Impression of Round 3
Board 1: IM Nanjo Ryosuke vs Tanaka Hiroto, Board 2: Zheyi Zhang (from Caissa Hong Kong) vs IM Kojima Shinya, Board 3: Oi Sounosuke vs Matsuda Sota - and many others...
After round 3 there was a lunch break. The facilities at the Kokoka Kyoto International Community House are excellent and the immediate outdoor environment makes the place very special, with several impressive temples and shrines, a zoo and boat rides. Around the corner was also a very nice restaurant offering delicious food wrapped in the full Kyoto charm of taste and ambiance. As Caissa Osaka Chess Club we were glad we could offer this experience to our guests.
Thumbs up from Coach Leonard as Coach Eduard gets seated and student Ethan ready for food attack!
After the lunch break, Round 4, showed the first few upsets. IM Nanjo Ryosuke on Board 1 did not make a mistake and won his game against Rejold Baze, but on Board 2 IM Kojima Shinya slipped out in a very well played gamed by Oi Sounosuke. Leonard Brinkmann on Board 3 did not get past Jie Jingfei, who played a very strong tournament.
Round 5: Board 1 and Board 3
In Round 5 Oi Sounosuke didn't see a chance to repeat his magic against the other IM Nanjo Ryosuke and on Board 3, with both CM Alex Averbukh, who had missed round 1, and Elizabeth Ivanov having climbed up high in the group of 3-pointers, it was Alex who managed to get the full point.
In the final Round 6, we were treated to a game on board 1 between the two IMs. IM Kojima Shinya with white won some material and kept on to it until the end to win the game against IM Nanjo Ryosuke. On Board 2, a major upset happened when some 450 points higher rated CM Alex Averbukh lost against U14 youth Sirimalla Srivatsa who as such ended 4th place. On Board 4, Caissa Hong Kong U16 Kyle Chen took the full point from Oi Sounosuke and ended 5th place.
Top 30 Final Ranking Cross Table
The total ranking list can be found on chess-results here: https://s1.chess-results.com/tnr1433716.aspx?lan=1&art=1&rd=6&fed=JPN&SNode=S0
Prize Giving with Top 6, Best U10, Best U12, Best U14, Best U16 and Best Girl U16 Trophies!
Prize Winner Photos:
1. IM Kojima, Shinya (JPN)
2. IM Nanjo, Ryosuke (JPN)
3. AFM Yen, Yu-Ting (TPE)
4. Sirimalla, Srivatsa (U14) (JPN)
5. Chen, Kyle (U16) (HKG) Caissa Hong Kong Student
6. AFM Yeh Bang-Fu (TPE)
Best Girl U16: Jie, Jingfei (JPN)
Best U16: Maeda, Kotaro (JPN) (Caissa Osaka Online Student)
Best U14: Munn, Dylan Alfred Kiefer (HKG) (Caissa Hong Kong - now Singapore Student)
Best U12: Noda, Ryo (JPN)
Best U10: Wong, Yue Hei (HKG) Caissa Hong Kong Student
The tournament ended on time and on a high. Most players would play again in the Japan Classic Osaka from next day and were definitely warmed up after today.
Thank you IM Matthew Tan for your helping the arbiter instead of playing yourself to which you had been looking forward.
It was great all participants were part of creating an excellent atmosphere and a zero-issue tournament. In that regard, a big thanks to all local players and also to all players from abroad: Taiwan, Canada, Spain, Indonesia, Laos, Thailand, the Netherlands and of course a big thanks to parents and players from Hong Kong who made the trip to Japan as part of the Caissa family.
We look forward to taking our Caissa Osaka Chess Club students to an overseas tournament soon! Stay tuned ...
