THE TAMSK-POTENTIAL

All there is to know about the MSO GIPF + TAMSK-potentials Championship!  

Date: August 27
Format: Swiss system over 5 rounds, 20 minutes per player/game
Prizes: gold, silver and bronze
Entry fee: 
    - free for the participants of the GIPF World Championship
    - others pay £ 13 (or £ 5 if under 16)
Schedule:

GIPF is to be played as described in the GIPF-rulebook under “Tournament rules” and with addition of 6 TAMSK-potentials per player.  

TAMSK-potentials tournament rules

To avoid misunderstandings, the different pieces are defined as follows:

•  A basic piece is a single piece.

• A GIPF-piece is 2 basic pieces stacked upon each other.

• A potential is an extra piece that represents the TAMSK-potential.

• A loaded piece is a basic piece with a TAMSK-potential on top of it.

Note: the side with the furrow is the top side of a basic piece! A potential must be stacked upon that side!

General use

1)   Each player gets 6 potentials (which is the standard number).

2)   You must stack a potential on a basic piece before bringing it into play. A basic piece with a potential is called a "loaded piece" and is to be introduced with a regular move: put it on a dot and push it onto a spot. You may not introduce a potential as a separate piece. (Not yet! See below: The use of the special ability, point 1.)

3)   You must introduce your loaded pieces (one at a time) after the GIPF-pieces and before the first basic pieces. In other words: first introduce your GIPF-pieces, then the loaded pieces  (i.e. the 6 potentials must be stacked upon the first 6 basic pieces you play), next the game goes on with basic pieces.

Note: potentials that are not brought into play before you play your first basic piece, are lost; they go out of the game.

4)   A loaded piece may be pushed by other pieces and can be captured just like any other piece on the board.

5)   You do not have to take a loaded piece from the board when it is part of a row that must be captured. So, just like a GIPF-piece, you may leave it on its spot. (Exception: see point 6 below.) If you decide to remove one of your own loaded pieces, you return the basic piece to your reserve but you lose the potential; it goes out of the game without being used. A potential can never return to the reserve!

6)   A row of 4 GIPF-pieces may remain on the board (cf. GIPF rules). This is not the case when 4 loaded pieces are lined up, nor when one or more loaded pieces form a row of 4 in combination with solely GIPF-pieces. Any such row must be "broken": you must remove at least one GIPF-piece or loaded piece.

Special case: a potential must be stacked upon a basic piece. If a player, on purpose of by accident, would stack a potential on top of another potential, this does not count as a loaded piece.

The moment it is noticed by either of the players, the player to whom the 2 potentials belongs may replace the bottom potential by a basic piece. The replaced potential goes out of the game. If the player doesn’t want to replace the bottom potential, then he loses both potentials; they are removed from the board.

If a player, while it is his turn, notices that his opponent has stacked two potentials on top of each other, he may put his opponent back in turn (i.e. make his time running) and point out the 2 potentials. It will be his turn again as soon as his opponent has replaced the bottom potential.

Very important: GIPF-pieces remain the most important pieces in play. A piece loaded with a potential is not to be considered as a GIPF-piece. You may lose all your potentials, but never all your GIPF-pieces.

Use of the special ability

1)   When you succeed in pushing a loaded piece onto the middle spot on the board (i.e. spot e5) you may make an extra move. Take the potential from the basic piece and bring it back into play as a single piece: put it on a dot and push it onto a spot. (You may not leave the potential on top of the basic piece. If you don't make the extra move, you lose the potential; it goes out of the game.)

2)   If your opponent pushes one of your potentials onto the central spot, then, too, you get an extra move. In this case you must make the extra move before your regular move.

Note: your opponent's turn must be completely finished before it is your turn again; if one or more rows must be captured, this must be done before you may make the extra move.

3)   A regular move and an extra move are one turn, no matter whether the extra move is made before or after the regular move. The position of the pieces in between the two moves is regarded as an "interim" situation. This means that no pieces may be captured in between the making of a regular move and an extra move, by either player. (This also counts on the rare occasion that you succeed in pushing a second, or even third potential onto the central spot during one and the same turn).

4)   The special ability of a potential can be used only once. As a single piece ( i.e. after you made an extra move with it) it has no more special power. This implies that you may not leave it on the board when it is part of a row that must be captured; it must be removed. The potential goes out of the game, no matter whether it is you or your opponent who takes it from the board.

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