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To capitalize on this camel hostage, Gold must create a second threat. |
The position at right is a basic example of a camel hostage. If the silver elephant left the trap, Gold could capture the silver camel by flipping or pulling it onto c3. For now, Silver can only defend with the elephant; any other silver defender could itself be captured in c3, unless there were two weaker silver defenders securely in place, which would require some work.
If Silver ever abandons her camel, the gold elephant should then pull it into the trap, finishing on c4 or d3, near the action. It is thus important that the gold cat remain on c2. The silver camel is not held on b3, as Gold must occupy that square to keep shared trap control and thus avoid losses at home. Gold does not occupy d3, as any gold piece on that square could be pulled away and perhaps threatened with capture.
For now, Gold's elephant is tying up Silver's elephant and camel both, leaving Gold's camel unopposed as the strongest free piece. The silver camel obviously can't defend any trap, and the silver elephant can only defend one trap at a time. The gold camel is thus a grave threat in the east.
Use of free pieces
Gold now wants to create a second threat and force Silver to make a tough choice. In preparation, Gold has wisely advanced a horse ahead of his camel; until the silver elephant comes east, a gold horse cannot be threatened there. A material exchange is possible if Silver moves her elephant east and blocks the gold elephant's path to e6 or f5. A horse-for-camel trade would be acceptable for Gold, but an even camel trade would waste the hostage.
Advanced horses can also protect weaker pieces. To defend the camel hostage, the silver elephant need only finish each turn on c4, d3, or c2; the silver elephant could thus dart around the trap and perhaps dislodge a small gold piece, which might then be delivered to c6 or f6. The gold horses are prepared to defend those traps. The western gold horse must keep some distance from the silver elephant, to avoid being frozen on c5 and then captured in two steps.
Gold could now attack the f6 trap, but if he wants to play it safe, he can keep his camel at home and use the eastern gold horse to drag weaker pieces down for capture in f3 (remember, rabbits can't retreat homeward). As long as the silver elephant defends the silver camel, horses are the strongest silver pieces which could defend f3, but that would be difficult with the gold camel right there; any capture threat at f3 would likely overload Silver. With nothing to stop the gold camel and horse in the east, several silver pieces could ultimately be lost there; the silver elephant will have to come east at some point.
Silver to move could easily trade her camel for a horse: if the silver elephant moves to b6, and the silver camel is then captured, Silver can pull the gold horse from a6 into c6, capturing it in return. The silver elephant could then go wherever it was needed. The loss of a camel for a horse is nothing compared to what Silver could have soon faced if she didn't move her elephant. Alternatively, Silver could play hb5ws Da2e ma3s, unfreezing and burrowing her camel so that it could not be captured in one turn. This is an option only because Gold has left b2 empty; gold pieces on a1, a2, and b2 would form a phalanx, fencing in any a3 hostage. Burrowing the camel would not free it, but would buy Silver time, as Gold would then need two turns just to reestablish a solid camel hostage, this time with the camel on b2.
Gold to move can stop Silver from doing either of those things. To fence in the silver camel, Gold could simply advance the b1 rabbit to b2, but a better option would be to slide the a2 dog to b2, the a1 rabbit to a2, and the b1 rabbit to a1; that way, the dog isn't blocked in. On the fourth step, the a6 horse could move to a7, precluding an immediate camel-for-horse trade.
Multi-piece defense
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The silver elephant has regained mobility, so Gold has no advantage from holding a camel hostage. |
When the opponent has the strongest free piece, this must be changed before he can capitalize. When the gold camel is active, the silver elephant cannot perpetually defend a hostaged silver camel. Fortunately, it might not need to. While one's elephant defends an away trap, friendly pieces can safely advance toward it. This often allows one to rotate the elephant out of hostage defense, replacing it with two weaker defenders supported by other friendly pieces. On 63s of this game, Silver rotated out his elephant. Suddenly the tables have turned, and Silver's elephant is the strongest free piece; the gold elephant can scarcely afford to move, especially with the silver rabbits threatening goal. Gold could temporarily retake e3 or f4 with a pull-and-replace, but Silver could punish such a move.
A nearby strong piece can strengthen a hostage position. A gold horse or camel might have pulled a silver dog away from the trap, making elephant rotation more difficult for Silver.
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Gold has just freed his elephant, but still has a fight ahead. |
On 28g of this game, Gold completed an elephant rotation just in time. Silver had a strong attack in the southwest, but the silver strength concentrated there made the northeastern rotation easier for Gold. Gold had no goal threat and no piece on f6, so the silver elephant had some degree of freedom. Meanwhile, Silver's western goal threat remained formidable; Gold's elephant rotation hardly sealed the game.
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This hostage position makes the eastern gold horse the strongest free piece. |
On 13g of this game, Gold held the silver camel hostage and was strong on both wings, yet could not force a capture in c3 or f3. The well-placed silver elephant prevented any capture in f3, while also protecting the silver horses from the gold camel.
Who has the strongest free piece now? If the gold elephant left the c3 trap, Silver would soon wipe out Gold's southwestern forces. If the silver elephant left e3, the gold camel could go west or north and do tremendous damage. The silver camel obviously isn't free, and the gold camel can't go anywhere without quickly being confronted by the silver elephant, which could safely leave e3 if the gold camel advanced. The silver horses are not free, as they are defending the silver camel and each other. The western gold horse is not totally free, as it is stopping a potential Silver swarm of c3, which could give the silver elephant more freedom.
The eastern gold horse is the strongest free piece; Gold can soon create an away threat that will force captures somewhere. The gold camel should stay in place for now, but the f2 dog could advance and be replaced by a cat or rabbit. The silver elephant might then go north and make multiple captures, but Gold could more than make up for that by sending his camel west. Even if both silver horses escaped, Gold could capture the silver camel and minimize his own losses, as Silver would have lost time getting her horses to safety.
This example and the next show that an elephant not directly defending a hostage can still be restricted by it. Rather than free the defending elephant, an elephant rotation sometimes just ties up more material in the hostage position.
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Each side currently has an elephant, camel, horse, and dog tied up in this hostage position. |
In this game, Gold's elephant rotation left the silver elephant blockaded. Despite this, neither side had a clear advantage in free pieces. The gold elephant is not actually free, as it is the only thing between its northeastern army and the silver camel. Silver might move her camel south to attack c3, but then the gold elephant could safely go south also, becoming the strongest free piece. Silver might do better to send the c2 horse east, where it would be the strongest local piece and could work toward a goal threat. Such a threat would be stronger if the second silver horse were free; having a friendly horse blocked in weakens a hostage-holder's position.
Camel hostage value
When Gold holds the silver camel hostage in the southwest, Silver likely wants to advance pieces in the west while Gold wants to advance in the east. Gold wants to create a second threat, while Silver wants to rotate out her elephant. The value of the hostage depends on the outcome of this race, and therefore on the initial positions of the pieces. For Gold, a camel hostage will tend to be worthwhile if two strong gold pieces are already on the non-hostage wing, and Silver is not well-developed on the hostage wing. Ideally, the free camel and a friendly horse will work together on the non-hostage wing, and the other friendly horse will guard against a potential elephant rotation on the hostage wing. This is not the only alignment for an effective hostage, but the free pieces are always key, and there is limited time to maneuver them. If the hostage-holder cannot soon create a second threat, the hostage may be weak.
If Silver is not well-positioned for an elephant rotation, she might abandon her camel and seek compensation elsewhere. While creating a second threat, a camel hostage-holder will likely expose a friendly horse to capture; the hostage value is thus related to the value of a horse-for-camel trade. A camel is estimated to be worth a horse and cat as an initial trade, so one might say that a solid camel hostage is worth a cat. This should be kept in mind if one has to choose whether to take a hostage or do something else.
If Silver is well-positioned for a quick elephant rotation, a hostage might be of negative value for Gold. The purpose of a camel hostage is to tie down the enemy elephant and camel, thus freeing one's own camel and/or horse to attack. If the enemy elephant quickly becomes free while one's own elephant remains effectively stuck, this has backfired badly.
Rotation strength
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This is typical of a successful elephant rotation; a team of silver pieces has freed the silver elephant and cornered the gold elephant. The a4 rabbit ensures that the silver dog could step right back to c4 were it pulled to b4. The c3 rabbit blockades the trap; if c3 were clear, the gold elephant could push the horse to e3, perhaps threatening it in f3 if the overall position allowed for that. The gold elephant must stay beside the trap, as Silver could quickly goal if space were cleared. If a gold horse or camel is nearby, Gold might hope to reassert ownership of the trap, but the silver elephant could likely thwart and perhaps punish such a move. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Here a gold rabbit forms part of the blockade. Since rabbits can't step backward, they can sometimes be used against their own friendly pieces. This is why players often do not place a rabbit behind a trap; if pushed or pulled onto c3, a gold rabbit can't step back to c2.
The gold elephant has some mobility, as Silver does not yet have a strong goal threat in this quadrant. Gold could push the camel to b1 and perhaps slide the c3 rabbit to b3, clearing space for further maneuvers. This is a possible advantage of holding a hostage on b2; the hostage could be buried if necessary. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The gold horse in the trap makes rotation difficult for Silver. If the silver elephant leaves, Silver will have to keep the gold horse off of c4 or d3; if the gold horse got onto either square with the silver elephant elsewhere, the silver camel likely could not be saved unless the silver elephant returned.
Silver might consider flipping the gold horse away, but Gold could occupy d2 and e3 to prevent this. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The trap is clear, but the gold elephant can't move through it, as the trap currently has no other gold defender. The silver elephant has left the quadrant, but may still be nearby; how free it is depends on the rest of the board. Gold could become very strong if he could threaten the silver dog or horse, as those pieces and the silver camel could potentially fall like dominoes. Once again, the a4 rabbit ensures that the silver dog could return to c4 if pulled to b4. The a2 and b2 gold rabbits are also key to Silver's position; if Gold could clear b2, the silver horse would not be safe on c2, from where it could be pulled to b2. That would give Gold a double hostage and also allow a gold defender to occupy c2.
If the silver horse and dog are safe, this is a strong position for Silver. If either piece can be dislodged, however, this could soon become a strong position for Gold, especially if the silver elephant is far away. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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A hostage held by a c2 elephant alters the usual alignment, since c2 is typically held by a weak piece. With the gold elephant on c2, b3 may be vulnerable. Here the gold horse may not be able to stop an elephant rotation, as Silver could occupy b3 and b4 if the gold horse stepped east. A hostage held behind the trap may therefore be weak.
If d3 and d2 were unoccupied, the gold elephant could move to d3 and pull the silver camel to d2 as a central hostage. Silver can usually prevent such maneuvers. |
Other hostage patterns
Double hostage
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A double hostage is stronger than a simple camel hostage. |
In this game, the gold elephant held a double hostage. With three strong silver pieces tied up, Silver's options are quite limited. Unless Gold is reckless, Silver cannot hope to abandon the hostages and remotely make up for a camel and horse loss. With Gold's large advantage in free pieces, elephant rotation would also be quite difficult for Silver. Neither hostage can escape; the g2 horse is frozen, and the silver camel is blocked by a phalanx.
A silver rabbit or cat on g4 could weaken this double hostage; if the silver elephant then left, any capture the gold elephant could make would land it on a square other than g3, so the second hostage could escape or be defended again after an exchange. Realizing that Silver could complicate things by stepping a rabbit or cat to g4, Gold should take care not to expose his camel to quick capture, as he might only get an even camel trade which would free and strengthen the southeastern silver horse. In fact, this horse could then help create a formidable goal threat.
High hostage
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Gold has an unstable but valuable high hostage. (Game) |
A high hostage is held on the fourth or fifth rank. This is a relatively rare pattern, as it is tricky to maintain, but it is always good to have one's elephant centralized if possible. The silver camel is a high hostage here; a gold horse blocks Silver from unfreezing his camel via c5, but the western silver horse might eventually reach b4 and unfreeze the camel from there. The gold horse could then be lost in c6, so this is a risky hostage position for Gold. It may be easier to hold a high hostage on a depleted board, as Silver did in this endgame.
Central hostage
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A central hostage may face capture threats in two different traps. |
A central hostage is held on the d- or e-file. If the hostage-holder has good control of both home traps, a central hostage might turn into a fork: Silver can play ed6s Md7s cc8s df6e, and Gold cannot defend both c6 and f6. This hostage position is more tactical than strategic; Silver gave up a horse to trap the gold camel. If a capture cannot soon be forced, a central hostage may be worth little more than an ordinary hostage.