Much excitement in mahjong playing Europe when China announced its fifth ‘majiang’ championship. The Chinese had given no feedback to the invitation for the European Championship in Venice, and now they organised a tournament on board a luxurious cruise ship which sailed the Yangtze river. Three European players subscribed to the competition, all from Denmark: EMA president Tina Christensen, Maarten Faartoft and Henrik Leth. Tina reports for Mahjong News. ‘To our surprise, we missed the skillful  young Beijing players.’

EMA and Fangzhuang Club Majiang Invitation
Tournament

BEIJING - Just arrived in Beijing, Li Wenlong took us to an entertainment establishment with pool tables, karaoke and mahjong rooms, where a brief opening ceremony was conducted in haste, including the gift of a huge calligraphy scroll by the club Vice-President Liu Cunhe. Immediately the tournament began in five small rooms with automatic tables that allows 16 hands to be played in 90 minute sessions. 20 players participated, 3 from EMA and 17 top players from the local club, which is the club of which Ms. Zhou Guijin is the president. She is also the mother of Song Panjing and the coming mother-in-law of Li Wenlong.
Between 16:00 and 23:00 four qualifying sessions were played with Swiss draw seating (a system where the best four players are at table 1, next 4 at table 2, etc.) and table points 4-3-2-1.

After the qualifiers only Martin was through, but he chose to forfeit the semi-final seat since it was midnight and we were all quite exhausted after the long travel and the by now extensively long day (7 hours time difference between Copenhagen and Beijing).
Next morning at 10:30 we were picked up at the hotel by Wenlong and Panjing who had been playing until early in the morning; Panjing winning the two-session final. We went to the airport and caught a plane to Yichang.

Fifth China Majiang Championship

YICHANG - In Yichang we boarded the luxurious Century Sun cruise ship where the tournament would take place over the next three days. We saw many well-known faces among the referees and organizers, like Mr. Gao Yuting, Mr. Liang Jiangguo, Mr. Cui Guilu, WMO general-secretary Mr. Jiang Xuanqi and not least Andy Zheng.

To our surprise, however, the players where largely unknown to us; mostly elderly people with a social rather than competitive attitude. Skilled and highly experienced for sure, but not as skillful as the younger Beijing players associated with Peking and Tsinghua Universities whom we have met at WMC 2007 and 2010. Only one such team, including Wenlong and Panjing, participated, winning a decisive victory with an impressive 85.5 table points and 2834 score points in 7 sessions, 14.5 table points ahead of the runner-up team.

Sixth prize

Together with world champion Jiao Linghua, we managed to get our hands on the sixth team prize with our 59 table points (there were team prizes for the best 6 teams). The 8th session was played by Swiss draw and didn’t count towards the team competition. At this final table, I got a Big Three Dragons hand and ended on a respectable 7th position, while our team mate Jiao Linghua won the tournament. 
16 Japanese players participated in the tournament, including our friends Yukari and Kimito Kugimiya, so we had time for some strategy talk and talk about rule details. There were also three sight seeing trips along the Yangzi: a look at the impressive three gorges dam, a trip through the lesser three gorges and a visit to an impressive and beautiful pagoda and temple, before the cruise ended in Chongqing, capital of fog.

Journalist

On the sightseeing trip through the lesser three gorges, we were interviewed by a journalist of the China Daily. I must say that I do not recognize much of what I was quoted for. For instance I did not advocate a fixed standard for tiles, and there has been no hearing of EMA in the matter as the article claims, but with such a wide range as 32-42 mm, this standard is hardly a restriction for organizers. I was quoted for having said that it is too bad that most Europeans learn mahjong from Japanese comics or from playing video games, and I strongly disagree with that wording; I only said that the young players we recruit to our club these days, very often know the game from Japanese pop culture and I think that is great of course!

I hope no one has taken offense of the quote which is definitely not anything I said. The journalist also confused the informations I gave on Danish tournaments with information regarding European tournaments in general. Anyway, it is good that there is some mentioning of mahjong in both China and Europe in China Daily.

Beijing time with Andy Zheng

BEIJING - Back in Beijing, we stayed near the Olympic village and saw the bird’s nest stadium and the other impressive structures erected for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. We had a day of sightseeing in Beijing with Andy as our guide in the sudden cold of Beijing (below zero degrees Celsius now, while just four days earlier it was 16 degrees above when we arrived).

In the evening we had dinner at his home with some time to discuss WMO and other issues. 

Next WMC

It is certain that China will organize the next WMC in 2012, but time and place are not decided. Likely it will be in November, several sites are suggested including Shanghai and Xi’an and it may be another couple of months before dates and place is fixed.

I stressed the importance for Europeans to know these facts as soon as possible (preferably before the end of the year), and while Andy understands this and will try to convince Mr. Jiang, I am not sure he can convince him to make an immediate decision, so I fear that European players will have to muster some patience.