Mahjong has been named formally as a sixth international mind sport, reports Beijing Daily.

据《北京日报》报道，麻将已经被正式成为第六项国际智力运动项目。

The tile game, which originated in Ming Dynasty China five hundred years ago, joins the ranks of traditional mind sports: Chess, Bridge, Draughts¹, Go and Xiangqi.

这项起源于500多年前的中国明朝时期的游戏，成为了继国际象棋、桥牌、国际跳棋、围棋和象棋之后的第六项国际智力运动。

The move was announced by the International Mind Sports Association (IMSA), during the Global Mind Sports Innovative² and Development Forum³, which has just drawn⁴ to a close in Beijing.

在日前于北京结束的全球智力运动创新发展论坛上，国际智盟宣布了将麻将纳入智力运动的决定。

The decision to admit the Mahjong International League (MIL) as the sixth full member of the IMSA was made during its first Executive Board Meeting in April in Denmark.

而在今年4月于哥本哈根举行的第一次执行委员会议上，承认麻将国际联盟作为国际智盟正式成员的决定就已经做出了。

However, while the game is hugely popular across China, the fact that its rules vary from one region to another, made it difficult to give Mahjong a world profile.

虽然麻将在中国很受欢迎，但是由于各个地方的规则都有所不同，因此很难在全世界对麻将进行推广。

The setting of world-wide competition rules has facilitated the development of mahjong, and follows the trend of standardization⁵ and professionalization in mind sports.

而在全世界范围内对比赛规则作出制定，促进了麻将运动的发展，顺应了体育运动规范化、专业化的发展趋势。

"Competitive mahjong will bring new opportunities for the enhancement of mind sports around the world. We will further promote the standardization and Mahjong competitions, guided by the concepts of fairness, openness, inclusiveness, inheritance and development," said Jose Damiani, founder⁶ and honorary chairman of IMSA.

国际智盟创始人兼荣誉主席乔斯·达米亚尼说道：“竞技麻将将为全世界智力运动的发展带来新的机遇。我们将在公平、公开、包容、继承和发展的理念下，进一步促进麻将的标准化、举办比赛。”