Singapore stages Asia’s first multi-disciplinary mind sports festival, drawing over 350 competitors from 17 countries
SINGAPORE, 15 NOVEMBER 2025 – The inaugural Asian Mind Sports Conference & Festival wrapped up on Saturday with the crowning of the first champions across its five featured disciplines, namely Chess, Bridge, Speed Cubing, Weiqi (Go), and Xiangqi (Chinese Chess), at the Suntec Convention Centre.
Chess
Vietnam’s Le Tuan Minh, who picked up the game at six, delivered the headline performance with victories in both the Rapid and Blitz events. Singapore’s Tin Jingyao claimed third place in both categories, while Indonesia’s Megaranto Susanto and China’s Zhao Chenxi took second in the rapid and blitz events, respectively.
“To be honest, I came here without any expectations, as I know I’m up against several strong opponents. So, it’s a nice feeling to know I’ve won twice,” said the 29-year-old.
Le’s wins also give him a timely confidence boost ahead of his SEA Games title defence. He won gold in the individual blitz event at the 2022 Games on home soil in Vietnam, and said this week’s performance reminded him that he can still hold his own against the region’s best.
“This event is obviously a very tough one as there are strong players from many countries such as Singapore, Indonesia and China. Winning this week just shows I can play and beat some of these players,” said Le.
Tin echoed the value of the staging of the Asian Mind Sports Conference & Festival a month out from the SEA Games, noting that the event offered rare and timely match practice.
“We have our regional counterparts here, mostly from Indonesia and Vietnam, so we got a chance to play with some of them. I think it’s good practice because we don’t get a lot blitz and rapid events around here in Singapore, so this event just being about a month before the SEA Games is good timing. And of course, we also get to scout their openings and playing style, but they also do the same against us,” said the 25-year-old.
Bridge
In Bridge, Team Singapore, represented by Timothy Wu, Fong Kien Hoong, Luo Cheng, Kelvin Ng, Teo Xueheng and Zhang Yukun, captured the Men’s Team title, finishing ahead of second-placed China by more than 20 points. In the Women’s Team event, China claimed the title, with Singapore, represented by Leong Jia Min, Jazlene Ong, Seet Choon Cheng, Tan Sock Ngin, Chan Yiu Lin and Yeo Hui Teng, placing second.
China swept the pair categories, with Hou Xu and Zhang Wei taking the men’s title and Zuo Xiaoxue and Wang Juyu winning the women’s. Meanwhile, Singapore’s Wu and Zhang finished third in the men’s category, while Leong and Ong placed second in the women’s event.
Zhang was pleased with their podium finish in both categories and highlighted the value of bringing the region’s mind sports community together through an event like the Asian Mind Sports Conference & Festival.
“We are happy with the result as our expectation for the event was a podium finish, and we achieved it. It’s good to have a centralised event like this where all the different mind sports come together as it brings the community together,” said Zhang.
Xiangqi
China made a clean sweep in the Xiangqi competition, taking all podium places in both the rapid and blitz categories. Meng Fanrui topped the rapid event, while Yin Sheng claimed the blitz title.
Yin, who also finished third in the rapid category, said: “Winning the Xiangqi title means a lot to me because it is a game that constantly challenges your creativity and discipline. Every match feels like solving a new problem, and I enjoy the mental battle of trying to stay one step ahead of my opponent.”
Weiqi
14-year-old Li Yigao was crowned the champion in the Weiqi competition. Li, who plays the sport professionally, was delighted that his maiden trip to Singapore ended on a high note.
“This is my first visit to Singapore and I’m so happy that this win here has made it even more memorable. I started playing weiqi when I was five, and I really enjoyed it as it trains your mind to be sharp and how to outwit your opponents,” said Li.
Speedcubing
The Speedcubing events produced sharp performances across the board, with athletes from the Philippines, China and Singapore claiming top honours. Reuel Franz Ramirez Magracia of the Philippines won the 3x3x3 One-Handed event with a best time of 12.96 seconds. China’s Luo Yifan took the 3x3x3 Cube title with a 7.24-second solve, while teammate Qian Zihao topped the Mirror Blocks event with a best of 15.09 seconds. Singapore’s Theodore Chan closed out the discipline with victory in the 3x3x3 Blindfolded category, recording a best time of 20.38 seconds.
The event was organised by the Asian Mind Sports Association and supported by the Cubewerkz, Singapore Chess Federation, Singapore Contract Bridge Association Singapore Weiqi Association and Singapore Xiangqi General Association. More than 350 athletes from 17 countries/region participated, with a prize pool of over SGD40,000, celebrating both competitive excellence and the cultural heritage behind mind sports.
Gordon Tang, President of the Asian Mind Sports Association (AMSA), is pleased that the inaugural Asian Mind Sports Conference & Festival will act as a catalyst for the mind sports ecosystem, especially following recent developments in the push for official recognition of mind sports in Singapore.
“This first edition marks a significant milestone for mind sports in Asia. As discussions advance toward the formal recognition of mind sports, potentially through new legislation in Singapore, the momentum we are building here will elevate our athletes and inspire greater participation. We believe this festival will spark long-term development and lay the foundation for a thriving mind sports ecosystem,” said Tang, who also serves as the Vice President of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), Chairman of OCA Esports, Martial Art & Mind Sports Committee and President of the Asian Mixed Martial Arts Association.
Results
Chess
Rapid Open
| Rank | Name | Nationality |
| First | Le Tuan Minh | Vietnam |
| Second | Megaranto Susanto | Indonesia |
| Third | Tin Jingyao | Singapore |
Blitz Open
| Rank | Name | Nationality |
| First | Le Tuan Minh | Vietnam |
| Second | Zhao Chenxi | China |
| Third | Tin Jingyao | Singapore |
Xiangqi
Rapid
| Rank | Name | Nationality |
| First | Meng Fanrui | China |
| Second | Wang Yubo | China |
| Third | Yin Sheng | China |
Blitz
| Rank | Name | Nationality |
| First | Yin Sheng | China |
| Second | Wang Yubo | China |
| Third | Wang Jiarui | China |
Bridge
Men’s (Team)
| Rank | Team |
| First | Singapore (Red) |
| Second | China |
| Third | Singapore (Blue) |
Women’s (Team)
| Rank | Name |
| First | China |
| Second | Singapore |
| Third | Hong Kong, China |
Men’s (Pairs)
| Rank | Name | Nationality |
| First | Hou Xu & Zhang Wei | China |
| Second | Sapan Desai & Debabrata Majumder | India |
| Third | Timothy Wu & Zhang Yukun | Singapore |
Women’s (Pairs)
| Rank | Name | Nationality |
| First | Zuo Xiaoxue & Wang Juyu | China |
| Second | Leong Jia Min & Jazlene Ong | Singapore |
| Third | Vidhya Patel & Kalpana Gurjar | India |
Weiqi
| Rank | Name | Nationality |
| First | Li Yigao | China |
| Second | Pan Zhen | China |
| Third | Tsai Yun Che | Chinese Taipei |
Speedcubing
3x3x3 One-Handed
| Rank | Name | Nationality |
| First | Reuel Franz Ramirez Magracia | Philippines |
| Second | Qian Zihao | China |
| Third | Luo Yifan | China |
3x3x3 Cube
| Rank | Name | Nationality |
| First | Luo Yifan | China |
| Second | Ng Yong Teng | Singapore |
| Third | Chen Luokun | China |
Mirror Blocks
| Rank | Name | Nationality |
| First | Qian Zihao | China |
| Second | Dai Chenrui | China |
| Third | Zhang Shuyuan | China |
3x3x3 Blindfolded
| Rank | Name | Nationality |
| First | Theodore Chan | Singapore |
| Second | Jacob Keh Zheng Xing | Singapore |
| Third | Dai Chenrui | China |
