The Most Famous
CHESS PLAYERS from Japan
This page contains a list of the greatest Japanese Chess Players. The pantheon dataset contains 461 Chess Players, 2 of which were born in Japan. This makes Japan the birth place of the 42nd most number of Chess Players behind Belgium, and Denmark.
Top 2
The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Japanese Chess Players of all time. This list of famous Japanese Chess Players is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography's online popularity.
1. Hikaru Nakamura (b. 1987)
With an HPI of 54.42, Hikaru Nakamura is the most famous Japanese Chess Player. His biography has been translated into 54 different languages on wikipedia.
Christopher Hikaru Nakamura (born December 9, 1987) is an American chess grandmaster, streamer, YouTuber, five-time U.S. Chess Champion, and the reigning World Fischer Random Chess Champion. A chess prodigy, he earned his grandmaster title at the age of 15, the youngest American at the time to do so. With a peak rating of 2816, Nakamura is the tenth-highest-rated player in history. Nakamura has represented the United States at seven Chess Olympiads (2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018), securing a team gold medal and two team bronze medals, and participated in three Candidates Tournaments, finishing second in 2024 edition, fourth in 2022 edition, and seventh in the 2016 edition. In May 2014, when FIDE began publishing official rapid and blitz chess ratings, Nakamura ranked No. 1 in the world on both lists; he has remained at or near the No. 1 rank in rapid and blitz ever since. Since 2018, Nakamura has pursued a career as a content creator and subsequently signed with an esports organization TSM, later joining Misfits Gaming and then Team Falcons. Having popular channels on Twitch, Kick and YouTube, Nakamura is the most popular chess streamer and has been credited with contributing to the growth in popularity of online chess.
2. Yoshiharu Habu (b. 1970)
With an HPI of 46.79, Yoshiharu Habu is the 2nd most famous Japanese Chess Player. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.
Yoshiharu Habu (Japanese: 羽生 善治, Hepburn: Habu Yoshiharu; born September 27, 1970) is a professional shogi player and a chess FIDE Master. He is a former holder of the Ryūō, Meijin, Ōi, Ōza, Kiō, Ōshō and Kisei major titles. He was the first person to simultaneously hold seven major professional shogi titles at the same time and is the only person to qualify as a lifetime title holder for seven major titles. In January 2018, Habu became the first professional shogi player to be awarded Japan's People's Honour Award. Habu is also a former president of the Japan Shogi Association (JSA).
People
Pantheon has 2 people classified as Japanese chess players born between 1970 and 1987. Of these 2, 2 (100.00%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Japanese chess players include Hikaru Nakamura, and Yoshiharu Habu. As of April 2024, 2 new Japanese chess players have been added to Pantheon including Hikaru Nakamura, and Yoshiharu Habu.
