White 188 vs Black 216
White starts from setup 188 (NBRNKRBQ), Black from setup 216 (NBQRBKNR). In the encyclopedia since 2026-10-03: neither side starts better.
|cp| ≤ 5 at 400M · 800M · 1.6B · 4B nodes, two independent engines agree
The two setups
White: setup #188 N B R N K R B Q
King on the e-file, rooks on c, f, queen on the h-file; no bishop starts in a corner; the knights start away from the centre. Castling follows the Chess960 rule: king and rook end on the classical squares. In ordinary symmetric play setup 188 gives White +0.30 (Morozov Balance Index, 400M nodes).
Black: setup #216 N B Q R B K N R
King on the f-file, rooks on d, h, queen on the c-file; no bishop starts in a corner; the knights start away from the centre. Castling follows the Chess960 rule: king and rook end on the classical squares. In ordinary symmetric play setup 216 gives White +0.32 (Morozov Balance Index, 400M nodes).
Why the pair is balanced
At the deepest rungs (400M, 800M, 1.6B nodes) the evaluation is exactly 0.00 each time, reaching search depth 58.
Admission rule: |cp| ≤ 5 at four budgets up to 4 billion nodes, no one-sided drift along the ladder, and confirmation by two independent engines — Berserk and Lc0 — each below its own median on symmetric positions.
The shallow rungs wandered between -18 and 0 cp before settling — a reminder that quick engine checks overstate imbalances, and why the ladder goes deep.
For comparison, in symmetric play setup 188 gives White +0.30 and setup 216 gives White +0.32: with both sides on the same rank the first move is worth something. In this pair Black's own setup absorbs that edge completely.
The engine's first choice for White is c4; the alternatives are slightly weaker but keep the game level.
Along the engine's main line (30 moves) the largest swing was 33 cp (around move 15), ending at 0 cp — the position stays playable for both sides.
Engine self-play agrees: 10 games, White won 0, drawn 10, Black won 0 (White scored 50.0%).
Verification ladder
Nine independent searches of the starting position, each with a larger node budget. Evaluation in centipawns from White's point of view.
| Stage | Nodes | Depth | Eval, cp | Main line |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| S0 | 100 000 | 13 | 0 | 1. c4 h5 2. h4 d6 3. f3 c5 4. Nb3 Nb6 |
| S1 | 500 000 | 17 | -3 | 1. c4 h5 2. Nb3 c5 3. g3 Nf6 4. f4 d6 |
| S2 | 2 000 000 | 24 | -18 | 1. c4 h5 2. f4 h4 3. g4 hxg3 4. Qg2 gxh2 |
| S3 | 8 000 000 | 28 | -6 | 1. c4 c5 2. f4 h5 3. g3 Nf6 4. Qf3 d6 |
| S4 | 32 000 000 | 33 | -8 | 1. c4 h5 2. Nb3 Nf6 3. f4 d6 4. g3 c5 |
| S5 | 128 000 000 | 46 | 0 | 1. c4 d6 2. f4 c5 3. Be4 f5 4. Bf3 Nc7 |
| S6 | 400 000 000 | 50 | 0 | 1. c4 d6 2. f4 c5 3. Be4 Nc7 4. g3 b6 |
| S7 | 800 000 000 | 55 | 0 | 1. c4 d6 2. f4 c5 3. Be4 Nc7 4. g3 b6 |
| S8 | 1 600 000 000 | 58 | 0 | 1. c4 d6 2. f4 c5 3. Be4 Nc7 4. g3 b6 |
Deep verification
The search ladder reaches 1.6 billion nodes; admission needs a 4-billion rung and two further engines on top of that. Beyond even that, every pair was re-checked at budgets up to ten times larger and in thousands of self-play games. This section shows what each check returned for this pair.
| Nodes | Eval, cp |
|---|---|
| 4 000 000 000 | not checked |
| 8 000 000 000 | not checked |
| 16 000 000 000 | not checked |
This pair held exactly 0.00 up to 1 600 000 000 nodes.
Independent engines, run on the same position:
- Berserk 14: -9
- Lc0 0.32.1: +6
Independent confirmations: 2 of 3. An engine counts as confirming when its reading of the pair is closer to equality than its own reading of a typical symmetric Chess960 position (+10 for Berserk, +18 for Lc0). Where only one engine confirms, the pair is balanced according to that engine alone, and this page says so.
Own weight of each setup, measured against the classical array: White +52, Black +112, difference -60. A balanced pair needs White's setup to be weaker by about the price of the first move.
Extended self-play: 10 games, 0 White wins, 10 draws, 0 Black wins, White scored 50.0%.
Best first moves
The 3 best first moves for White, searched together at 400 000 000 nodes.
| # | Eval, cp | Depth | Main line |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | -6 | 41 | 1. c4 d6 2. f4 Nf6 3. Nb3 h5 4. g3 c5 5. Qf3 Bd7 |
| 2 | -31 | 40 | 1. f4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. Rxc4 c6 4. Nb3 Nb6 5. Rc1 f5 |
| 3 | -31 | 40 | 1. Nb3 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. Rxc4 Nb6 4. Rc1 c6 5. g3 f5 |
Main-line play-out
30 moves, 5 000 000 nodes per half-move. Largest |evaluation| 33 cp, mean 10.3 cp, final 0 cp.
| # | White | cp | Black | cp |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | c4 | -10 | h5 | -17 |
| 2 | Nb3 | -14 | d6 | 0 |
| 3 | g3 | +3 | Nf6 | 0 |
| 4 | f4 | +8 | c5 | -2 |
| 5 | Qf3 | -22 | Bc6 | +5 |
| 6 | e4 | +27 | Bd7 | +22 |
| 7 | d4 | +8 | cxd4 | +7 |
| 8 | Bxd4 | 0 | Bh3 | +2 |
| 9 | Rh1 | 0 | Bg4 | 0 |
| 10 | Qf1 | 0 | e5 | 0 |
| 11 | Be3 | 0 | Bh3 | 0 |
| 12 | Qf3 | 0 | Nb6 | -4 |
| 13 | c5 | -17 | Bg4 | -12 |
| 14 | Qg2 | -7 | dxc5 | -25 |
| 15 | Bxc5+ | -32 | Kg8 | -33 |
| 16 | Nf2 | -33 | Qd7 | -33 |
| 17 | f5 | -25 | Na4 | -22 |
| 18 | Nxg4 | -15 | hxg4 | -16 |
| 19 | Be3 | -24 | Bc7 | -18 |
| 20 | Bg5 | -9 | Bb6 | -17 |
| 21 | Qe2 | -14 | Bd4 | -11 |
| 22 | Rd1 | -10 | Qc6 | -8 |
| 23 | Kf1 | -7 | Rh5 | -7 |
| 24 | Na5 | -7 | Qb6 | -8 |
| 25 | Nc4 | -6 | Qa6 | -8 |
| 26 | h4 | -12 | Rc8 | -13 |
| 27 | Bxf6 | -12 | Qxf6 | 0 |
| 28 | Kg2 | 0 | b5 | -5 |
| 29 | Na3 | 0 | a6 | 0 |
| 30 | Nc2 | 0 | Nxb2 | 0 |
Engine self-play
10 games at 500 000 nodes per move: White won 0, drawn 10, Black won 0 — White scored 50.0%. Average length 34.3 moves.
Sample game 1 (1/2-1/2)
1. f4 d6 2. Nb3 Nf6 3. c4 c5 4. d4 h5 5. Be3 h4 6. Qg1 Nb6 7. Bd2 Bc7 8. Rf3 Rh5 9. Ne3 cxd4 10. Nxd4 d5 11. c5 Nc4 12. Nxc4 dxc4 13. Rxc4 Rhd5 14. Qf2 Bb5 15. Nxb5 Rxd2 16. Bd3 Rxb2 17. Nxc7 Qxc7 18. Qxh4 O-O-O 19. Rc1 Rxa2 20. Kf1 Qa5 21. c6 Ra1 22. cxb7+ Kxb7 23. Bb1 Qb6 24. Be4+ Nxe4 25. Qxe7+ Kb8 26. Qe5+ Rd6 27. Qe8+ Rd8 28. Qe5+ Rd6 29. Qe8+ Rd8
Sample game 2 (1/2-1/2)
1. c4 c5 2. Nb3 d6 3. g4 Qxg4 4. Qxb7 Nb6 5. f4 Nf6 6. Qf3 Qxf3 7. Rxf3 Bc6 8. Rfc3 Rg8 9. d4 g5 10. fxg5 Rxg5 11. Rg3 Rxg3 12. hxg3 cxd4 13. Nxd4 Ba8 14. Bf5 h5 15. Be3 Ke8 16. Nf2 e6 17. Bd3 Rc8 18. Nb5 Ke7 19. b3 a6 20. Nc3 Nbd7 21. Bg5 Kf8 22. Kd2 d5 23. cxd5 Nxd5 24. Nxd5 Rxc1 25. Kxc1 Bxd5 26. Bh4 Nc5 27. Bc2 Kg7 28. Kd2 f5 29. Ke1 Kg6 30. Nd3 Ne4 31. Nf4+ Bxf4 32. gxf4 Nc3 33. Bd3 a5 34. a3 Bxb3 35. Kd2 Nd5 36. e3 Ba4 37. Be2 Nc7 38. Kc3 Bb5 39. Bf3 Be8 40. Be2 Bb5
Play it in the CH960 app
Open this page on a phone with the CH960 app installed, or find pair 188 / 216 in the app's encyclopedia, then choose how to play.
- Local game — two players on one device, with a clock.
- With a mentor — a clearly labelled training bot with hints, at your level.
- Challenge a friend — an online game by link; both players get the same pair, colours swap on rematch.
Play this pair against the computer, right here Play a friend
FEN (Shredder, castling rights by rook files): nbqrbknr/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/NBRNKRBQ w CFdh - 0 1
Mirror twin (the same position mirrored): White 780 vs Black 653.