THE Guildford based UK Mahjong Association (UKMA) staged the forth European Mahjong Championship of this elegant mind game of Chinese origin earlier this month at the Farnham Maltings.

No less than 128 participants from 21 different countries were welcomed to the event as well as the Mayor of Farnham, John Ward, at the opening ceremony. The players competed for three solid days until Mikhail Lugovkin from Russia emerged as the new European Champion.

Guildford Mahjong Club members Yixuan Liu and John Duckworth claimed creditable 14th and 18th places respectively, both being former winners of the annual UK Open Mahjong tournament.

Residents may have also stumbled upon the rare sight of mahjong playing in the town’s bars in the evenings - three days’ worth was clearly not enough for some.