Mahjong becomes 6th International Mind Sport and has ambitions for Beijing 2022

Having been accepted by the International Mind Sport Association (IMSA) as the sixth officially recognized mind sport, Mahjong is hoping to go a step further at the 2022 Winter Olympic Games. 

The IMSA’s President Chen Zelan stated that they were submitting an application to the International Olympic Committee and have been in negotiations with the Beijing 2022 Organizing Committee in order to bring Mind Sports into the intellectual movement of Beijing 2022 and make it a winter sport. 

At the IMSA General Meeting held during the SportAccord Convention on 5th April, 2017, the application of the Mahjong International League (MIL) was unanimously approved, which means the IMSA now has six affiliated international federations governing Bridge, Chess, Draughts, Go, Mahjong and XiangQi to lead. 

As a popular recreation activity in China, Mahjong has different rules in different areas, which has not hindered its spread throughout the world. To navigate this problem and to remove any luck factors existing in the current rules, the MIL innovatively uses the Duplicate Format for high-level competitions, including both Mahjong Competition Rules for teams and individuals and Sichuan Rules. 

Source: Sina and mahjongnews.com

Proofread by Raymond Fitzpatrick