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WEEKLY MAHJONG

By Tom Sloper (湯姆·斯洛珀)

January 28, The Year Of The Dog
Column #303

Mahjong Competition Rules ("Chinese Official"). The strategy book by world champion player Mai Hatsune and fellow Japanese championship player Takunori Kajimoto, Hatsune Mai no Sekai ni Katsu ("World-Class Mahjong with World Champion Mai Hatsune"), has finally been translated into English. Even better, the translation (by player/columnist Ryan Morris) is available for free on the Takeshobo website.

Mai Hatsune, as you may recall from previous columns, was the top-scoring individual player at the World Championship in Mahjong in Tokyo in 2002. Selected strategy topics from the book:

First, look for Mixed Triple Chow
Meld a Prime Chow to build Mixed Straight
Pure Straight...or perhaps Pure Shifted Chows?
Master the 6 point combinations: Half Flush and All Pungs
The Importance of Keeping your Hand Concealed; Proper Timing for Melding
Power combo: Concealed Hand + All Chows + All Simples
The Crossroads: Concealed vs. Melded
The Power of Upper Tiles and Lower Tiles
Chicken Hand is not for chickens
Weapon of last resort: Melded Hand
You have nothing? Search for Knitted Tiles and Honors
Seven Pairs, or All Pungs?
Gather in the Middle
Spotting a Hidden Mixed Shifted Pungs
When to go for gold
Time to throw in your hand
Reading a player’s hand
Engineering a come-from-behind win

L to R: Mai Hatsune, Tom Sloper, Takunori Kajimoto

The photo above was taken in Hainan in 2003, but I've met the authors in competitions in Tokyo (2002), the Netherlands (2005), and Beijing (2005) as well.

The translation of Hatsune and Kajimoto's book is at http://museum.takeshobo.co.jp/kokusai/index.html.

麻雀

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Question about this column? See an error? Email and the discussion will be posted on the Mah-Jongg Q&A Bulletin Board.

Photos of the Fourth China Majiang Championship and Forum in Tianjin, 2006.
Photos of the Third China Majiang Championship and Forum in Beijing, 2005.
The official website of the Third China Majiang Championship and Forum in Beijing, 2005.
The official website of the Open European Mahjong Championship
Photos of the 2005 OEMC
Photos of the 2003 CMOC.
Photos of the 2002 WCMJ.

Want to play Chinese Official rules on your computer?

Four Winds from Lagarto & Armadillo Graphics is available at http://www.4windsmj.com.
Give Mahjongtime some of your time at http://www.mahjongtime.com

Download the Official official rules document at http://www.chinamajiang.com/ssxx20.html.
Download various versions of the Mahjong Competition (Chinese Official) Rules: http://www.mahjongnews.com/comj.htm (English, French, German, Chinese), or http://www.ninedragons.com/mahjong/oir.html (English, includes errata lists).
World Champion Mai Hatsune and fellow Japanese champion player Takunori Kajimoto have written the definitive strategy guide to Mahjong Competition Rules. It's been translated into English and is at http://museum.takeshobo.co.jp/kokusai/index.html.
FAQ 22 answers the most frequently asked questions about Chinese Official scoring.
Tom's home-made booklet goes into strategy. See http://www.sloperama.com/tour/rulebook.htm.
For more help with your C.O.I.R. strategy, see www.tilehog.net.
If you can read Chinese, the full and complete official rules are at http://us.mjclub.com/RulesAndScore.