Just some years ago, it was virtually impossible to play mahjong outside your own country. Now mahjong players roam all over Europa.

Where in the world was Dutch mahjong player Anton Kösters when in Haid, Austria the 2006 Upper-Austria championship took place?
Anton, smiling faintly, apologizes: ‘I wanted to, really. But it was just one week before another tournament, and I would have had to spend two days in a train. Just a bit too much for just four sessions of mahjong.’
Anton also was not there on the French open championships in 2006 and 2005, but since both these tournaments took place on the remote Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean, over ten thousand kilometers from his residence Delft, you can hardly blame him for that.
But Anton was present on all the other official international tournaments that were held in Europe after the first Open European Mahjong Championship 2005 took place. He participated in the OEMC. He was back in Nijmegen six months later, on the first Dutch Open. Some weeks later, he took the Thalys train to Paris for the first Paris Open. He is one of the most favorite costumers in the Nebo-hotel in Copenhagen’s red light district, since he plays in any official Danish or Copenhagen championship (and comes back every now and then for a non-official riichi tournament.) He took the plane to Hungary to play in the first Hungarian Open in Dunaújváros, and he will be back there coming August for the second championship; a small trip from the Austrian mahjong capital Feldkirchen, where he has signed up for the second Austrian Open, one week earlier.

Anton Kösters at the Hungarian Open, August 2007.

Anton Kösters is the most notorious of the traveling circus of international mahjong players, who every week check the international mahjong calendar which is published on the Mahjong News website. On the initial meeting of the European Mahjong Federation in Nijmegen, June 2005, it was decided that each associated country could organize two official tournament each year: one open national championship (which values 2 points for the European ranking list) and one open local championship (value: 1 point). Since that date, Anton played in seventeen of those tournaments, including the OEMC ’05, and missing just three.
It’s probably a mania, he acknowledges. ‘I don’t even know why I am doing this. Anyway, it’s fun, meeting all those players everywhere in Europe. And it’s nice to do some sightseeing afterward. I am lucky: I can afford it.’

But the enthusiasm about the international mahjong tournaments does not stop with Anton Kösters. The Dutch couple Jaap and Marianne Croeze played in 12 respectively 11 tournaments; Marianne being just one tournament behind, since she could not play at the OEMC ’05 because she was a referee there. Harry Kal, also from Holland: 11 tournaments. An intruder here: Laurent Mahé from France: 11 tournaments. Another Dutch couple, Chris and Conny Scheffler, scores 10 tournaments.
Especially the Dutch, but also the French and the Danish players travel all over Europe nowadays to play mahjong – and they hardly ever fail to meet András Boda from Hungary there, who, in his van, always takes an Hungarian team to wherever the tiles will be shuffled, never caring too much where they can sleep: ‘We’re Hungarians’, Andy smiles when he is asked about that – whatever his statement may mean.
For much too long a time, international mahjong contacts have been virtually impossible. While go, bridge and chess players could find friends to meet their strengths all over the world, mahjong players were limited to their own country, or maybe even to their own club, because the other club, just around the corner, might play Chinese classical while your club only loved Hong Kong style.

Reunion

My first international experience dates from December 2001, when I combined a weekend trip to Milan, Italy, with a mahjong tournament during the Mind Sports Event ‘Città di Milano’. First, I had to learn the Italian rules, so I did not have one chance against the Italian players who were thoroughly versed in their own rules of course. Still, I was fascinated by the opportunity to meet players from another country who played mahjong – even though not the ‘right’ mahjong, in my eyes.
One year later, I played in a local championship in Monza, near Milan. But when I met a group of Italian players again the following year – it was in Forlì, not far from Ravenna, the Italian mahjong capital – it was to teach them instead. For the first time in Italy, the international rules were played at the time. Two years later, twelve Italian players were present at the OEMC in Nijmegen.
Now, the mahjong circus travels all over Europe. Every tournament is a reunion, where old friends meet. On the EMA ranking list there are the names of over two hundred players who participated in at least two tournaments. Over 150 participated in three tournaments or more, and still more than 100 in 4 tournaments or more.
Where this will end? Hard to say. For Anton, the answer is clear: ‘An EMA tournament on Reunion Island – I still hope to be able to play there once.”

This article was written for the program booklet of the Second European Mahjong Championship 2007. Copyright © Martin Rep / MahjongNews

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