For foreigners who want to get further involved in the Chinese community, the popular card game doudizhu, which literally means battling the landlords, may be a way to go. And now doudizhu learners may find themselves even more motivated, as the authority is to recognize top players officially and offer 5 million yuan ($750,000) for winners of an ongoing championship.

　　对于那些想要进一步融入中国社区生活的外国人来说，“斗地主”恐怕是最受欢迎的棋牌游戏了。斗地主，顾名思义，就是其余两方打倒地主一方。目前这款游戏已成为国家体育总局棋牌运动管理中心认可的智力竞技运动项目，同时全国竞技二打一扑克锦标赛也已正式启动，总奖金高达500万元(合75万美元)。人们参与斗地主游戏的热情也空前高涨。

　　The championship, which kicked off on Saturday, is the first national competition after the game was recognized as a competitive event by China’s General Administration of Sport, one of its organizers.

　　北京时间9月3日，由主办方之一 ——国家体育总局棋牌运动管理中心组织的全国竞技二打一扑克锦标赛正式启动，这也是自今年“斗地主”被国家体育总局认证为竞技运动项目之后，所开展的第一次如此规模的全国大赛。

　　Doudizhu is the most popular poker game in China. It is usually limited to three players, but also playable by four. In each hand one player, the "landlord", plays alone and the others form a team. The landlord’s aim is to be the first to play out all his cards in valid combinations, and the team wins if any one of them manages to play all their cards before the landlord.

　　斗地主是中国最受欢迎的扑克牌游戏，通常由3-4个玩家组成。其中一方为地主，其余几家为另一方。双方进行对战，先出完手中所有牌的一方为胜，即若地主一人先出完则地主胜，若另一方任意一人先将手中牌悉数出完，则非地主一方获胜。

　　The event offers an attractive total bonus of 5 million yuan ($750,000) for winners.

　　本次赛事为赢家提供了极具诱惑力的奖金，总金额高达500万人民币(合75万美元)。

　　Players can participate through various online gaming platforms after register with their real name. By the end of June 2017, the top 2,000 players will compete face to face with each other. One hundred and eight of them will be qualified for the semifinal and only 12 can secure a seat in the final.

　　在本次锦标赛中，参加比赛的爱好者都可以通过各家网络平台，以实名制的方式参赛。据了解，该赛事的“海选”预计将于2017年6月截止。届时，累计分排名前2000位的选手将进入落地赛。随后还将进行由108名选手参加的半决赛和12名选手参加的决赛，最终决出史上首位斗地主的官方全国冠军。

　　"The number of participants may be stunning," Chen Zelan, an official of the General Administration of Sport in charge of table games, told the Xinhua News Agency. "We expect the total number of registered players to reach 100 million."

　　国家体育总局棋牌运动管理中心副主任陈泽兰在接受新华社采访时表示，“竞技二打一赛事的参赛规模可能会非常惊人，我们希望将来在各个平台注册参赛的总人数能够上亿。”

　　Another official, Bai Min, said doudizhu was now available on dozens of platforms in China. On ourgame.com, for example, the number of those who play once every month is 10 million.

　　据中国棋院综合发展部主任白岷介绍，目前总共有几十个网络平台可以玩“斗地主”。以联众为例，每月玩过1次的用户就有1000万人之多。

　　To guarantee fairness and to better measure their skills, the players sometimes will have to play against computers during the competition.

　　为了保证公平且更好衡量玩家技能，玩家在赛事进行中有时需要和计算机进行对决。

　　"For example, if there are 10 players in the game, they will get the exact same cards to play through computer," Chen said.

　　“简单地说，如果10个人参赛，那么这10个人的牌是一模一样的，”陈泽兰表示道。这就去掉了偶然性和运气成分，更能体现参赛选手的技术水平。”

　　Moreover, online players can also get "skill points" according to their performance, which will be ranked nationwide.

　　除此之外，网络玩家还可以根据表现得到技术等级分，并可以随时查询自己的全国排名。

　　An online system for competitive chess and cards has been established. Registered players can share and accumulate points among different platforms on both smart phones and computers.

　　目前，竞技趣味棋牌服务管理平台已经开发完成。注册玩家可以通过智能手机和电脑两种不同平台实现分享和积累分数。

　　Players can check their ranking online and gain titles ranging from "five-star player" to "life-long master".

　　同时，玩家们可以根据自己累计的分数查看全国排名，从而获得从“五星牌手”到“终身特级大师”的等级称号。

　　This is one of the explorations of the General Administration of Sport to transform more table games besides go, draughts, bridge, etc.

　　这是国家体育总局在对更多对桌游进行改革前的一次探索，未来还将对诸如围棋、跳棋以及桥牌等游戏进行改革。

（编辑：何莹莹）