Riichi mahjong in Holland: the Kinryu Majan Taikai (Golden Dragon Tournament) at Leusden.

HANOVER - Riichi Mahjong is starting a triumphal march in Europe. Not only does it look as though the upcoming first European Riichi Championship will be a success, but the riichi players will also get their own ranking list. The Board of the European Mahjong Association (EMA) has acknowledged riichi mahjong as its second official mahjong variant.

The first tournament where players will be able to deserve points for the European Riichi Ranking (RR), will be the European Championship. The regulation for the RR is not ready yet, but will probably look a lot like the official MERS regulation, the European ranking list which is based upon tournaments with the Mahjong Competition Rules (MCR). The next RR Tournament will probably be the Open Danish Championship in Århus in Denmark.

Championship

The Dutch team that is organizing the first European championship is quite satisfied with the feedback of riichi players. Martin Rep: "When the idea came up, we decided to make it a low profile tournament. We did not even know how many riichi players there are in Europe; all we know is that this sensational variant is extremely popular in Japan. In Europe, the only countries that are organizing official tournaments, are Denmark and the Netherlands. That is why we decided to meet halfway for the first international championship: in Hanover in Germany."

But not only players from Holland and Denmark are signing up, Rep and his co-organizer Sjef Strik are surprised by the international feedback. "On the list we have players from the USA, from Russia and even from China and Japan. The tournament will stay a low profile event, we have hardly any money. But we are sure that it will be a great success."

The coming month, Martin Rep will say goodbye as a member of the EMA Board and a vice-president of the EMA. One of his last actions for EMA was the initiative for the Riichi Ranking. "I am sure it will be a great stimulant for riichi mahjong in Europe", he says.

Website of the European Championship Riichi Mahjong >>

Regulation of the MERS Tournaments >>

Print