The camel or long knight is a

fairy chess piece A fairy chess piece, variant chess piece, unorthodox chess piece, or heterodox chess piece is a chess piece not used in conventional chess but incorporated into certain chess variants and some chess problems. Compared to conventional pieces, fai ...

with an elongated

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the G ...

move.Piececlopedia: Camel
by Hans Bodlaender, ''

The Chess Variant Pages ''The Chess Variant Pages'' is a non-commercial website devoted to chess variants. It was created by Hans Bodlaender in 1995. The site is "run by hobbyists for hobbyists" and is "the most wide-ranging and authoritative web site on chess variants". ...

'' It can jump three squares horizontally and one square vertically or three squares vertically and one square horizontally, regardless of intervening pieces. Therefore, it is a (1,3)-leaper.

History and nomenclature

The camel is a very old piece, appearing in some early

chess variant A chess variant is a game related to, derived from, or inspired by chess. Such variants can differ from chess in many different ways. "International" or "Western" chess itself is one of a family of games which have related origins and could be c ...

s, such as Tamerlane chess. It also appears in some modern variants, such as wildebeest chess.

Value

The camel by itself is worth about two

pawn Pawn most often refers to: * Pawn (chess), the weakest and most numerous piece in the game * Pawnbroker or pawnshop, a business that provides loans by taking personal property as collateral Pawn may also refer to: Places * Pawn, Oregon, an h ...

s (appreciably less than a knight) because of its and lack of sufficient freedom of movement on an 8×8 board. However, a

king King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the ...

, a

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

, and a camel can force

checkmate Checkmate (often shortened to mate) is any game position in chess and other chess-like games in which a player's king is in check (threatened with ) and there is no possible escape. Checkmating the opponent wins the game. In chess, the king is ...

on a bare king, assuming that the bishop and the camel are not on the same square color;Endgame statistics with fantasy pieces
by Dave McCooey, ''The Chess Variant pages'' a king, a

, and a camel can usually force checkmate on a bare king, but not easily, and there are thirteen types of fortress draws; lastly, a king, a camel, and a

wazir Wazir often refers to: * Vizier or wazir, a high-ranking political advisor or minister Wazir may also refer to: Places * Wazirabad, a City in Punjab, Pakistan * Waziristan, a region in tribal belt of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan * Wazir Akbar K ...

can sometimes force checkmate on a bare king, but it can take up to 77 moves. A king and two camels cannot checkmate a lone king, even if the camels are on different square colors. While the rook versus camel endgame is usually a draw, more winning positions exist than there are in rook versus knight and rook versus bishop endgames; the longest win takes 35 moves. (All endgame statistics mentioned are for the 8×8 board.)

Usage and value as a component

As a component of other pieces, the camel has about the same value as a knight (both pieces can move to at most eight squares). The camel plus ferz compound is used in Omega Chess, where it is called a ''wizard'',"Omega chess"
/ref> and the camel plus king compound is used in Paulovits's Game, where it is called a ''general''. Its long move carries the danger of unstoppable attacks in the opening and of capturing winning large amounts of

material Material is a substance or mixture of substances that constitutes an object. Materials can be pure or impure, living or non-living matter. Materials can be classified on the basis of their physical and chemical properties, or on their geolo ...

.DAN+, Different Augmented Knights
by

Ralph Betza Ralph Betza (born 1945) is a FIDE Master and inventor of chess variants such as Chess with different armies, Avalanche chess, and Way of the Knight. Invented chess variants * Multiplayer Chess (date unknown) * High-Low Chess (1968) * Strange ...

, ''

'' For example, if a camel plus

compound (LW in Betza's funny notation) replaces White's queenside rook, then White can immediately win material with 1.(LW)b4, threatening 2.(LW)e5 to win the black

queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

and 2.(LW)b5 to win the black rook on a8; the threats cannot both be parried.

References

{{Chess piece Fairy chess pieces

History and nomenclature

Value

Usage and value as a component

See also

References