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June 19, 2005 (Year of the Rooster)

Column #219

Chinese Official Tournament Rules. I know it isn't time for another Chinese Official column, but I've got an important tournament coming up this week, and I need all the practice I can get! And I have to write next week's column in advance, since I'll be in Holland. So please bear with me while I put Earl, Samantha, Waiyee, and Noriko through their paces yet again. Samantha's deal and first pick:

She saw the potential for an all-chow hand. Either Mixed Triple (789), Mixed Straight (123D 456B 789C) or kwa leung, Pure Straight (dots). First she had to get rid of those pesky honors. First, E.

Suffice it to say things progressed a bit, then E threw 7C. Now she had to make a decision:

It also occurred to her that she could get rid of 45B, go for Outside Hand - but that's only 4 points, so heck with that idea! Threw 8D. So, wouldn'cha know, Earl's next discard was 7D. Samantha picked, threw 1D, hoping for 6B 7B. She picked garbage the next 10 turns in a row. Then she picked 6B. Throwing 9D, she was ready - needed 7B for Mixed Straight.

She'd played it valiantly, but it ended, frustratingly, in a wall game. Don'cha hate when that happens? Let's try another. Earl's deal:

As usual, a probable chows hand. Might have to settle for Mixed Shifted and All Chows. Threw W.

Noriko's first discard was 8B. Earl had to think fast. A straight looked unlikely; simples could add 2 points; so he eschewed the 789 possibility and went for 678: "Chur." Discarded 9B. Picked 4D, threw 4B. Some unimportant stuff happened, then he picked 4C.

He needed to either make three 678s, or 567 678 789. So the 34D was expendable. Threw 4D. S punged it. Shortly, he picked 8D. Good, very good. Threw 3D. Would call 6C for mah-jongg. That would give him Mixed Triple (8), All Chows (2), and Short Straight (1). Picked 6C himself; add 1 point. And 1 for the flower: 13. There. That one went much better!

Read about the 2005 OEMC at: http://www.mahjongnews.com/nijmegen2000.htm

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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.

Read about the 2002 WCMJ.
Read about the 2003 CMOC.
The next big event will be the 2005 OEMC.

Want to play Chinese Official rules on your computer? Four Winds from Lagarto & Armadillo Graphics is available at http://www.4windsmj.com. Jade Dragon Mahjong is playable online at http://www.jadedragonmahjong.com/

Download Chinese Official rules for free: http://mahjongnews.com/comj.htm.

I've written a booklet that goes into strategy and provides a little info about some rule refinements that have occurred since the downloadable book. See http://www.sloperama.com/tour/rulebook.htm.

FAQ 22 answers the most frequently asked questions about Chinese Official scoring.

If you can read Chinese, the full official rules are at http://us.mjclub.com/RulesAndScore.

© 2005 Tom Sloper. All rights reserved.