HANOVER - On Sunday, July 11th, 2010, six o'clock in the afternoon, the name of the successor of European riichi mahjong champion Thomas Kragh will be formally announced. This will be the end of two - no doubt, thrilling - days of riichi mahjong in the Jazz Club of Hanover, Germany.

NEW YORK - A riichi mahjong club in New York - that is just about as rare as a piste de petanque in Tokyo, or a skating rink in the Sahara desert. Not that Americans don’t play mahjong - the National Mah-Jongg League is the largest of its kind in the world, with over 300,000 members. But - that’s mah, and mah, according to many mahjong players, is a far cry from the real game.

So it’s quite remarkable if there appears to be a riichi mahjong group in New York, which will send a player to the European Riichi Mahjong Championship, coming summer in Hanover, Germany.

HANOVER - The Japanese are coming! As are the Dutch, the Germans, the Danes - and even the Americans.

Ilka Stummeyer - together with her countryman Björn Schulz, she is the main organizer of the European Riichi Mahjong Championship 2010 - is overwhelmed by all the positive feedback she gets in the build-up to the event. She has had to decline a number of requests from countries who wanted a larger delegation, or from countries who are not qualified to send players to the EC.

HANOVER - The same number of players as in 2008 (eighty). About the same economical entry fee (some 50 or 60 euros). The same residence: Hanover, Germany. The organizers of the European Riichi Mahjong Championship 2010 are embroidering on the 2008 success formula. The capital of Lower Saxony has already proven twice to be able to host a perfect riichi tournament. The EC Riichi 2010 will be the crowning glory of the Hanover mahjong club.