 He has twice won gold medals at the Finnish Chess Championships (1978, 1986), three times won silver medals (1976, 1982, 1990) and won bronze medal in 1972.Yrjö Rantanen was the winner of many international chess tournaments, including 3rd place in Helsinki (1981), and won in Järvenpää (1982).Yrjö Rantanen played for Finland in the Chess Olympiads