SAN DIEGO - This weekend, for the third time the Open European Mahjong Online Championship is being held.  ‘Nobody’, a.k.a. Martin Scheichenbauer from Austria, is the current leader on the MORSE, the mahjong online ranking system.In the build-up, MahjongNews.Com asked him all about playing online.

You play online quite often. Is that necessary if you want to be number one on the ranking?

Nobody: “No. There is no difference. But you can play online when you are in a ‘mahjong mood’, and then you play better of course.”

Can anyone who is a reasonable mahjong player, also be a good online player?

“A good ‘live’ player will always be a good online player, but it is not always the other way around.”

Do you ever play for money on MahjongTime?

“Sometimes I do, since I got some money from MahjongTime on the occasion of the exchange of points. Currently, I have about 100 US dollars and I desperately try to lose the money. But after every game the amount increases. I will increase the bet until I have finally got rid of it. Basically, I don’t want to play for money, unless I should decide to make it a living. But I am a notary, that is also a decent job and it does not go well with gambling for money. Playing for money, for me that’s a taboo.”

Are you a VIP member of Mahjong Time?

“I am a special member and I do not pay anything; in the beginning of MJT, I gave them many valuable hints. But of course I would be willing to pay for the modest annual fee. Since I do not watch tv, I have many options to pass my time; one of them is playing mahjong.”

Do you also play on other mahjong servers?

“What other mahjong servers?  I like to play on MahjongTime, since I meet many fiends there. Many small ‘off line stars’ were born on MJT.”

Do you also play in Guilds, Free Rolls etc. on MahjongTime?

“Sorry, these MJT structures are too complicated for me. And complicated things I want to leave behind when I close my office doors.”

What is better: playing live or playing online?

“Without any doubt: playing off line is always better. But since that is not always possible, I use MJT in order to get to know other mahjong variants, to try out certain strategies and just as a pastime. Who else wants to play at five a.m.? I do not read newspapers either.”

Will you be the winner of the OEMC Online 2009?

“I am not going to win. Because I am not a real winner. An average of two table points will do for me; many people are surprised when I tell them so. And because I probably will not participate; I think two subsequent evenings of playing online sometimes is too exhausting for me. I would love to take a last-minute decision, but this is not possible because of the smart application formalities. But this is no problem, since next year in Holland I will win the world championship. Or not. But that’s mahjong and it’s nice to play, though.”

“Finally: MJT is fantastic, but it should react quicker on feedback. It still has shortcomings which have not been repaired, even though I have reported them more than once.”