Toguz Kumalak

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Toguz Kumalak

Other Names: Тоғыз құмалақ (Kazakh), тогуз кумалак (Russian), Togus Kumalak (German), Тогуз Коргоол (Kyrgyz), Toguz Khorgool (English), Toguz Korgool (English)

First Description: N. Pantusov, 1906

Cycles: One

Ranks: Two

Sowing: Single laps

Region: Afghanistan (Badakhshan), China (Dzungaria), Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia (Bajan Ölgij), Russia (Altay, Khakassia, Sakha, Tuva), Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan (Karakalpakstan)

Toguz Kumalak ("nine pebbles") is the Kazakh name of a mancala game also known as Toguz Korgool ("nine dung balls") in Kyrgyz. The number 'nine' has a high significance in the folk beliefs and mythology of Central Asian peoples. It was considered auspicious. The Kyrgyz once divided the year into 40 weeks (one for every Kyrgyz tribe), each with nine days.

The game is played in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, the Republic of Karakalpakstan in Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, among the Kyrgyz in northeastern Afghanistan, parts of Russia (Altay, Khakassia, Sakha, Tuva), by the Kazakh minority in western Mongolia (Bayan Ölgiy) and in northwestern China (near Urumchi in Dzungaria).

Mancala games reached Central Asia by the Silk Road through the spread of Islam. A closely related game called Piç has been described from the village of Oguzkent near Erzurum (Turkey). It shows that a precursor of the game must already have existed when Turkish people migrated from Central Asia to Anatolia in the 12th century. The oldest Toguz Kumalak boards made of stone are dated in the 16th century. Many boards are traditionally carved in wood, but nowadays they are mostly produced of plastic. Before the rules were unified in 1948 by Muchtar Avezov, many different variants existed. Two of them, Bestemshi and Kozdatu, are still played by children.

There are regular Toguz Kumalak championships held in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia (Altay). The first tournament outside Central Asia was organized in August 2006 at the Mindsports Olympiad (MSO) in London, England. It was won by Aidos Seitzhanov from Kazakhstan. In 2007, tournaments were held in Istanbul (Turkey), Prague (Czech Republic), Ohrid (Macedonia) and a second one at the MSO in London (England). A Toguz Kumalak seminar was given in Santiago de Cali, Colombia. The game was used by the computer scientist K. Scott at the University of Alaska (Anchorage) to teach his students the JavaScript programming language.

In Central Asia, the game is promoted among children and adults alike as a national sport. Although it was originally played only by men, today many women are masters. There are also blind players such as M. Kurmanbetov.

The current president of the National Toguz Kumalak Federation of Kazakhstan, Alikhan Mukhamedjevich Baimenov, was a professor of the Mining-Mechanical faculty in the Zhezkazgan branch of the Karaganda Polytechnic Institute of Motor Transport (1981-1992) and a candidate for President of Republic Kazakhstan from the Democratic party «Ak Zhol».

Contents 1 Rules 2 Sample Game 3 Endgame Problem 4 Variants 5 Technical Terms 6 External Links 7 References 8 Solution to the Endgame Problem

Rules

Toguz Kumalak is played on a board, which consists of two rows of nine holes. Between these rows are two parallel furrows called kazan ("boilers") in the middle of the board to store the captures. The players own the kazan in the other half of the board. The holes are usually made in such a way that it is evident whether the contents are odd or even.

At the beginning there are nine balls in each hole, except the kazans, which are still empty. Players need a total of 162 balls.

Initial Position

On his turn, a player takes all the balls of one of his holes, which is not a tuzdik (see below) and distribute them anticlockwise, one by one, into the following holes. The first ball must be dropped into the hole, which was just emptied.

However, if the move began from a hole, which contained only one ball, this ball is put into the next hole.

If the last ball falls into a hole on the opponent's side, and this hole then contains an even number of balls, these balls are captured and stored in the player's kazan.

If the last ball falls into a hole of the opponent, which then has three balls, the hole is marked as a tuzdik ("sacred place" in Kazakh; or tuz in Kyrgyz, which means "salt").

There are a few restrictions:

• A player may only create one tuzdik in each game.
• The last hole of the opponent (his ninth or rightmost hole) cannot be turned into a tuzdik.
• A tuzdik cannot be made if it is symmetrical to the opponent's one (for instance, if the opponent's third hole is a tuzdik, you cannot turn your third hole into one).

It is permitted to make such a move, but it wouldn't create a tuzdik.

The balls that fall into a tuzdik are captured by its owner. He may transfer its contents at any time to his kazan.

The game ends when a player can't move at his turn because all the holes on his side, which are not tuzdik, are empty.

When the game is over, the remaining balls, which are not yet in a kazan or in a tuzdik are won by the player on whose side they are.

The winner is the player who, at the end of the game, has captured more balls in their tuzdik and their kazan. When both players have 81 balls, the game is a draw.

Sample Game

The following game was played in 2006 between Nurlan Eleusiz (Kizilorda) and Serik Aktayev (Pavlodar) in Aktau, Kazakhstan. Eleusiz was the winner of the Grand Prix of Kazakhstan in 2002 and Aktayev the Kazakh Champion of 2004. The game ended after just 17 half-moves, thus making it the shortest game on master level ever recorded in history.

N. Eleusiz (Kizilorda) - S. Aktayev (Pavlodar), Aktau (Kazakhstan), 2006:

1. 65 (10), 87

2. 55, 99 (12)
3. 34 (22), 35 (16)

4. 34!, 89
5. 91!!, 45

6. 48 (24), 92
7. 62 (38), 78?? (32)

Better would be 7. ..., 91! (30) and after 8. 91 (54), 78 (46).

8. 91 (54), 58 (forced)

Aktayev can't play 67 (50), because Eleusiz would counter with 9. 27X (57).

9. 15 (56)

Eleusiz has a strong material and positional advantage. Aktayev resigns.

Endgame Problem

From a game played in Kazakhstan. South is 7 points ahead, but must still win the game. South to move.

Notation:

The holes are numbered on each side from left to right (1 to 9). The first number of a move denotes the emptied hole, the second number the last hole into which a ball is dropped. Thus 27 means that the move started in the second hole and ended in the seventh one. A minus (-) means that a player is loosing a point by dropping a ball into a tuzdik. If the number of points changes, the actual number is given in brackets.

Variants

Kazakh children play simplified versions of the game with shorter rows and less counters.

• Kozdatu (Қоздату) has seven holes per row, each one containing seven pieces at the beginning.
• Bestemshi (Бестемщі) has five holes per row, each one containing five pieces (бес means five) initially.

Technical Terms

Many specific words and expressions are used to describe the game.

Kazakh	Kyrgyz	English	Meaning
Toguz Kumalak (Тоғыз құмалақ)	Toguz Korgool (Тогуз Коргоол)	"nine pebbles" (Kazakh); "nine dung balls" (Kyrgyz)	the National Game of the Kazakhs and Kyrgyz
Otau (отау)	Uj (чй)	"cow"	hole, pit
Kazan (казан)	Kazan (казан)	"kettle"	store
Kumalak (құмалақ)	Korgool (Коргоол)	"pebble" (Kazakh); "dung ball" (Kyrgyz)	counter
Tuzdik (Туздык)	Tuz (Туз)	"sacred place", also: "ace" (Kazakh); "salt" (Kyrgyz)	acquired accumulation hole

External Links

• Web site of Alikhan M. Baimenov, President of the Kazakh Toguz Kumalak Federation.
• Photo of Batyrbekova Ainagul, Kazakhstan Master of Sports in Toguz Kumalak.
• A traditional Toguz Kumalak board in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

References

Aidarkulov, K. 

Manas eposundagy eldy Oiundar: Ordo Zhana Toguz Korgool Oiundarynyn Tarykhyi Kelip Chyguu Maselisine Karata Ilimii-Populiarduu Makalalar. Bishkek (Soviet Union) 1977.

Akshurayev, A. 

Toguz Kumalak: Kodeks i Klassifizirovanje Igri". Mektiep, Alma-Ata (Soviet Union) 1980.

Akshurayev, A. & Chunisbayev, N. 

Toghiz Kumalak. Zhalin, Alma-Ata (Soviet Union) 1983.

Aknasarov, C., Chumabayev, H. & Shotayev, M. E.

Tangazhaiyip Toghiz qumalaq. Turkistan (Kazakhstan) 2004.

And, M.

Some Notes on Aspects and Functions of Turkish Folk Games. In: The Journal of American Folklore 1979; 21: (1): 44-64.

And, M.

Cocuk Oyunlarinin Kültürümüzde Yeri Ve Önemi. In: Ulusal Kültür: Üc Ayhk Kültür Dergisi 1979 (4).

Çetin, İ.

Çüç. In: Sivas Kültür-Sanat. (Sivas, Turkey) 1989; 4: 30-32 .

Çetin, İ.

Kazakistan'da Nevruz. Atatürk Kültür Merkezi Başlanliği, Ankara (Turkey) 2004.

Deledicq, A. & Popova, A. 

Wari et Solo: Le Jeu de Calcul Africain. Cedic, Paris (France) 1977.

Kartanbayev. 

Toguz Korgool Version 3.5.. Information Center "Toktom", Bishkek (Kyrgyztan) 2002.

Kazinform. 

New Togyz-kumalak. In: Kazakhstanskaya Pravda 02/09/2002.

Kaz OGIZ (Ed.). 

Toguz kumalak. Alma-Ata (Soviet Union) 1943.

Machatscheck, H. 

Zug um Zug: Die Zauberwelt der Brettspiele. Verlag Neues Leben, Berlin (Germany / GDR) 1972, 146-147.

Machatscheck, H. 

Stein um Stein: Exotik der Brettspiele. Verlag Neues Leben, Berlin (Germany / GDR) 1984, 69 & 76-84.

Omurzakov, D. & Musin, Y. 

Kirgizkiye Narodnye Igry. Frunze (Soviet Union) 1973, 43-47.

Orozobakov, T. & Chylymov, A. 

Toguz korgool. Bishkek (Kyrgyztan), 1997.

Pantusov, N. 

Kirizkaja Igra Toguz Kumajak. In: Izvestija Obscestva Arxeoligii, Istorii, i Etnografii pri Kazanskom Universilele (Kazan, Russia) 1906: 22.

Russ, L. 

The Complete Mancala Games Book: How to Play the World's Oldest Board Games. Marlowe & Company, New York (USA) 2000, 21-22.

Scott, K. 

Togiz Kumalak. University of Alaska / Computer Science, Anchorage (USA) 2005. 21-22.

Sharinov, C. A. & Seitshanov, A. M.

Laws of Togyzkumalak Game. Ministry of Tourism and Sports of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Commitee of Sports Affairs, Astana (Kazakhstan) 2006.

Sharunov, C. & Shotayev, M. E.

Togyz kumalak: UgraUnmemekmuadov. Alma-Ata (Kazakhstan) 2006.

Shotayev, M. E.

Rules of Intellectual Game: Toguzkumalak. Turkistan (Kazakhstan) 2005.

Sinayuç, O.

Oğuzkent'te Zihinsel bir oyun: Piç. In: Türk Folklar Araştırmaları 1974; 29 (6).

Totenayev, B. 

Kazaktun Ulttik Oyundari / Kazakhskie natsional'nye igry. Alma-Ata (Kazakhstan) 1994.

Solution to the Endgame Problem

If 1. 68,-1 89 (72); 2. 67,-1 89 (73) 3. 92 (mistake) 13; 4. 91 (80). South loses.

Therefore:

3. 81!! 13 (forced); 4. 93 (80) 23; 5. 89 23; 6. 91 13; 7. 91 (82). South wins.

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By: Ralf Gering
Under the CC by-sa 2.5 license.