Camel (Fairy Chess) - 1,3 leaper
Camel
Definition
In fairy-chess terminology a Camel is a (1,3) leaper: it jumps three squares in one orthogonal direction and one square perpendicular to that, ignoring any pieces on the intervening squares. Because the jump is longer than a knight’s (which is a (1,2) leaper), the Camel is sometimes nick-named the “long knight.” In algebraic diagrams the piece is usually given the letter C or sometimes an inverted knight symbol ♘ turned 180°, though notation is not fully standardised.
Movement pattern
Standing on e4 a Camel can leap to the following eight squares, provided they are on the board:
- b5 (−3, +1)
- b3 (−3, −1)
- h5 (+3, +1)
- h3 (+3, −1)
- d7 (−1, +3)
- f7 (+1, +3)
- d1 (−1, −3)
- f1 (+1, −3)
Like a knight, the Camel cannot be blocked: it simply lands on the destination square, capturing any opposing piece there.
How the Camel is used
The Camel almost never appears in orthodox over-the-board chess, but it is a beloved piece in fairy chess problems, variant boards (10×10 or 8×10), and chess-variant armies such as Grand Chess or the Janggi-inspired “Asian Chess” family. Problem composers value the Camel because its asymmetric mobility creates striking geometry and helps avoid cooks (dual solutions).
Strategic and historical significance
• The Camel was first catalogued by the British problemist T. R. Dawson in the early 20th century, during the golden age of fairy chess innovation.
• On an 8×8 board the Camel is colour-bound: starting on a light square it can only reach dark squares and vice-versa, visiting just 32 of the 64 squares. This weakness makes it far less powerful than a knight in practical play.
• On larger boards its value climbs sharply; studies on a 10×10 board rate one Camel at roughly 2.3 pawns (somewhere between a knight and a bishop).
• Because a Camel’s longest straight component is three, forks that a knight can achieve in cramped quarters often fail for a Camel—tactical motifs therefore differ markedly.
Examples
1. Simple mate in two (Dawson, 1923)
FEN: 4k3/8/8/8/8/2C5/4K3/8 w - - 0 1
White: King e2, Camel c3
Black: King e8
Solution: 1. Cd6+ Kf8 (forced) 2. Cf7#. The long leaps circumvent the king’s attempts to stay central.
2. A Camel & Knight vs. King fortress
Studies show that K+N+C vs. K is generally winning on 8×8, unlike K+2N vs. K, because the Camel can drive the enemy king to the edge while the knight handles the final mating net.
Interesting facts & anecdotes
- The name “Camel” follows a tradition, begun by the 19th-century problemists, of giving desert animal names to long leapers—the “Giraffe” is a (1,4) leaper, the “Zebra” a (2,3) leaper, etc.
- In the 1980s the British Chess Magazine ran a monthly column “The Camel’s Corner,” devoted exclusively to problems featuring (1,3) leapers.
- Modern computer engines can be instructed to recognise fairy pieces; a fun experiment shows that a Stockfish derivative values a Camel at about 3.1 centi-pawns per square of mobility, nearly 30 % less efficient than a knight on the 8×8 board.
- Do not confuse the Camel piece with the “Camel Trap” in the Queen’s Gambit Declined (1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Nbd7 5. e3 c6 6. Nf3 Qa5), a tactical motif named for the hump-like pawn structure!
Notation in composed problems
Problemists commonly use:
- C (English-language magazines)
- Ca (in the French Fédération Française des Échecs)
- Unicode fairy symbol 🐪 (informally, in online discussion)
Example mini-PGN with fairy tag: