FG Mahjong Pros

[Mulboyne]

[floatr][/floatr]Japan Times: Mahjong banking on an infusion of new blood
Mahjong may be a game of skill, intelligence, calculation and luck, but Jenn Barr also believes in good form. "Excess movement can give you away," says Barr, who turned pro in April. "Wait, and the tide will turn"...If mahjong conjures images of high stakes, thick smoke and shady-looking customers, look again...the Mahjong Professional League is pegging its hopes on foreign professionals like Barr, a native of Seattle, and other female professional players. Indeed, the league went out of its way to make the path easy for Barr. Moriyama coached her, with the result that she turned pro in April in record time -- less than a year after she started out playing the game on a computer. Barr turned pro at the same time as Garthe Nelson, a native of California, and China-born Wang Zhenfang. These three are the league's only non-Japanese pros...more...