Japan Chess Classic 2025 | 日本チェス連盟

Regulations

Dates/Venue/Format

Date(s)：Friday, July 18th, 2025 – Monday(National Holiday), July 21th, 2025

Venue: Hokkaido Prefectural Domin Katsudo Center “KADERU L 2.7”
Domin Katsudo Center Building, North 2 West 7, Chuo-Ku, Sapporo-si, Hokkaido (map)
About 13 min walk from South Entrance of Sapporo Station on JR Hakodate Line
Format：7R Swiss, 90 min +30sec/move, National & FIDE Standard Rated
＊If the number of participants is above 128, the accelerated swiss system will be used for the pairings. For details, please see “Tournament Rules”.

Registration

Ticket-A for Annual Member of Japan Chess Federation (Limit: 120 players)

Normal ticket 12,000 yen / U22 10,000 yen
(Limit: 120 players)

GM: full discount, IM/WGM: half discount

＊U22 refers to players of Japan Chess Federation who have not reached the age of 22 by January 1, 2025. (i.e. were born in and after 2003).

＊Early-Bird discount: Ticket (A) is available for 10,000 yen until 23:59 on 17th May. (8,000 yen for U22.)

Ticket-A can be purchased by those whose chess nationality is Japanese and who are either already annual members of the Japan Chess Federation at the time of the announcement of the regulations, or will become annual members of the Japanese Chess Federation.
If you are not yet a member of the Japan Chess Federation, please purchase a ticket via Peatix first and promptly complete the membership registration process:
Membership Registration
Players who don’t have a chess nationality but intend to acquire Japanese chess nationality are able to purchase Ticket-A.
Current members should ensure that their membership remains valid until the last day of the tournament. If your membership has expired, please renew it before check-in on the tournament day.
The final decision regarding eligibility will be made by the Japan Chess Federation.

Ticket-B Foreign Chess Nationality Ticket(FNT) (Limit: 80 players):

17,000 yen(19,000 yen for unrated players)

GM: full discount, IM/WGM: half discount

The Foreign Chess Nationality Ticket (Ticket-B) can be purchased by players whose chess nationality is not Japan (JPN) and who are not annual members of the Japan Chess Federation. This ticket is only valid for this tournament.

※If you are a member of the Japan Chess Federation at the time of the announcement of the regulations, you may also purchase Ticket-A.

The price is 17,000 yen for FIDE rated players and 19,000 yen for those who do not have a FIDE rating (UR).
A FIDE-ID is required to join this tournament, so those who do not have a FIDE-ID must complete the procedure to obtain it before the tournament. Please contact your federation for information on how to join FIDE.

Chess nationality	Annual members of the Japan Chess Federation	Ticket	Additional Conditions
JapanFED /Other FED	Current annual member	Ticket-A 12,000yen U22 10,000yen *Early bird: discount for 2,000yen
Japan FED	Not subscribed /expired	Ticket-A 12,000yen U22 10,000yen *Early bird: discount for 2,000yen	Membership Registration/Renewal
Other FED	Not subscribed	Ticket-B Rated 17,000yen UR 19,000yen

Registration

Purchase tickets through [Peatix] during the registration period.（Limit: total 200 players)

Registration Period

Ticket (A): From 18:00 on Sat, 19 April 2025 to 23:59 on Sun., 13 July 2025

Ticket (B): From 18:00 on Sat, 19 April 2025 to 23:59 on Fri., 4 July 2025

A “waiting list” ticket will be sold at the same price along with the “participation ticket” on Peatix.

“Waiting list tickets” can be purchased only when the capacity has been reached and regular tickets are sold out. If a cancellation occurs, the participants will be allowed to participate in the tournament in the order in which they purchased their “waiting list tickets,” and the purchase price will be applied directly to the entry fee. If the waiting list is not filled by one week prior to the tournament, the purchase price will be refunded.

If a waiting list ticket purchaser becomes eligible to participate in the tournament, he/she will be notified via his/her registered email address.

＊“Waiting list tickets” will be provided only to Ticket-A for this tournament.

Schedule

Fri, 18th July

09:30-10:10 Check-in

10:30 Pairing for Round 1

10:40 Opening Ceremony

11:00 R1

16:00 R2

Sat, 19th July

09:30 R3

15:00 R4

Sun, 20th July

09:30 R5

15:00 R6

Mon (Holiday), 21st July

09:30 R7

14:30 Prize Giving

Prizes

The top players will receive the following prizes depending on their performances

【Open】

1st 100,000 yen and plaque of victory

2nd 50,000 yen and plaque

3rd 30,000 yen and plaque

4th 20,000 yen

5th 10,000 yen

6th～10th 5,000yen

【U1800 and U1600】

1st Place of each rating categories 5,000 yen and plaque

2nd 3,000 yen

3rd 2,000 yen

※The rating category refers FIDE rating first, and national rating second. Both FIDE- and national-UR players are excluded from category awards.

【Local prize】

Among players living in Hokkaido,

1st 10,000 yen

2nd 5,000 yen

3rd 3,000 yen

4th 1,000 yen

5th 1,000 yen

【Women】

1st ～3rd plaque

【U18】

1st ～3rd plaque

ChessMood prizes will be awarded to the 20th, 30th, 40th, 50th, 60th, 70th, 80th, 90th, and 100th finishers.

★Top 5 places who has Japan chess nationality in this tournament will be qualified for Japan Chess Championship 2026.

Tie-breaks will be used to determine winners. No two players will share the prize.

*Prize amounts are subject to change depending on the number of participants. However, the prize amount will not be lowered from the above amounts.

Other Regulations

Tournament Rules

Accelerated Swiss Pairing

①What is Accelerated Swiss Pairing?

Accelerated Swiss is a variation of the Swiss System, where virtual points used only for deciding the pairings will be given in the first few rounds of the tournament to players in the top half of the starting list. After a certain number of rounds, the virtual points will not be accounted for, and rest of the tournament will proceed upon usual Swiss pairings.

The virtual points are used solely for deciding the pairings. The points will not be added to the actual points that the players gain in the games, and will not be accounted for in the final standings.

②Accelerated Swiss in this tournament

The Accelerated Swiss will come into effect until Round 4 in this tournament. Players on the top half of the start list will be given 1 “pairing point” for Round 1 and 2, 0.5 for Round 3 and 4, respectively. From Round 5, the pairing points will disappear, and the tournament will proceed upon usual Swiss pairings.

Tie-breaks:

Direct Encounter (If all the tied players have played each other, the sum of points from these encounters is used.)
Buchholz Cut-1 (Sum of the opponents’ points excluding the lowest)
Buchholz (Sum of the opponents’ points)
Sonneborn-Berger (Sum of the defeated opponents’ points and halves of drawn opponents’ points)
Sum of the Rating of the opponents
Drawing of lots

Default time: If any player is not present within 30 min after the game starts, she/he shall lose the game by default. The game is not rated.
Pre-registered Byes: Bye requests will be accepted until 18:00 on the day before the tournament by filling in the Bye Request Form. 0.5 points will be awarded for pre-requested Byes, and 0 points for Bye requested after the deadline. The requested Bye for the final 2 rounds shall be given 0 points. If a player has more than 2 requested byes, the player will not qualify for prizes.
Pairing-allocated bye will be one point.

Pairings of the first round will be published after the registration/check-in time (10:10) on the day of the tournament. If the player missed check-in without notifying the organizer, he/she will not be paired in the first round. In that case, he/she will be paired from the next round after completion of check-in.

For Bye requests after the deadline or cancellations, please contact japanchess.info@gmail.com . If a player missed the prior round without a Bye report, and does not contact the above address by email before the pairings of the next round is published, he/she will be disqualified and will be excluded from the tournament. If cancellation, see detail at “Cancellation Policy” above.
The organizer will provide chess equipment including clocks and score sheets. Players must use them.
Players must record all moves. Once the game is finished, both players sign both score sheets and hand over the original score sheets to the arbiters. Make sure the results are correct before signing.
All electronic devices including smartphones, tablets or smartwatches must be turned off and stored away. Players are not allowed to keep it on him/her or take it outside of the venue in a bag. When a player breaks these rules, his/her game shall be immediately lost. It is forbidden for anybody to use a mobile phone or any kind of communication device in the playing venue.
The pairings will be done in order of the FIDE ratings, the National ratings, titles, and the alphabetical order of the players.
The tournament will follow FIDE rules unless otherwise stated above.

Media Related Rules

The tournament results will be posted on the Internet (chess-results.com) for reporting purposes. The game record may also be published on the Internet. Participants agree to the publication of their real names, results, and game records.

Observers are allowed to take photos for the first 10 minutes of each round. No photos are allowed after 10 minutes, except for the case with special permission.

Individuals who wish to use photos or videos of participants (during games, award ceremonies, etc.) must be careful to protect their privacy. In addition to obtaining comprehensive consent in advance, for example, in the case of minors, the permission of their guardians must be obtained, and due consideration must be given to the protection of personal information and portrait rights.

The organizer will take photos, record videos, and broadcast the event live. These may be published and used in media such as websites, SNS, video sites, and journals managed by Japan Chess Federation, or provided to the mass media in case of interviews. Participants shall agree to the publication and live broadcast of these photos and videos.

Other Rules

The organizer reserves the right for changing the above rules with adequate reason before the first round starts.

Please ensure that you can receive emails from the Japan Chess Federation (japanchess.info@gmail.com). Inquiries regarding eligibility and other matters sent from this address must be answered promptly. Failure to respond may result in cancellation of participation.

Due to the spread of coronavirus infection or other unforeseeable reasons, there may be unavoidable changes to the duration of the rounds or the event may be cancelled.

If a player has a high temperature or is feeling sick, the player must tell the staff and get out of the venue immediately. If the organizer determines that the player is sick, the organizer may order the player to get out.

Players may put on their masks at their own disposal. Even in cases where the player does not have a bad physical condition,the participants may be asked to wear a new mask if they have symptoms such as coughing or sneezing due to hay fever or other allergies.
The rules of the tournament venue (KADERU 2.7) must be followed. There is no smoking area at the venue.

The Japan Chess Federation shall not be responsible for any troubles between individuals.

If there is a discrepancy between English and Japanese, the Japanese version prevails.

Cancellation Policy

If you wish to cancel your participation in the tournament, you must notify us via email at japanchess.info@gmail.com .　 Refundability depends on the time of cancellation and type of ticket.

Ticket-A:

Cancellations made by 23:59 on Sun. July 6 2025:
- If the tournament has not reached full capacity – Full refund
- If the tournament has reached full capacity – No refund
Cancellations made on or after Mon. July 7, 2025:
- No refund under any circumstances

・“waiting list tickets”:If the waiting list is not filled by one week prior to the tournament, the purchase price will be refunded.

Ticket-B:

Cancellations made by 23:59 on Fri. June 27, 2025:
- If the tournament has not reached full capacity – Full refund
- If the tournament has reached full capacity – No refund
Cancellations made on or after Sat. June 28, 2025:
- No refund under any circumstances

Ticket (A) & Ticket (B):

If the tournament is canceled due to natural disasters or organizer-related reasons, alternative measures will be considered.

All refunds will be processed according to Peatix’s regulations.

Organizer

Japan Chess Federation