White 74 vs Black 319
White starts from setup 74 (NNRKBBQR), Black from setup 319 (NQRKRNBB). 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 #74 N N R K B B Q R
King on the d-file, rooks on c, h, queen on the g-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 74 gives White +0.25 (Morozov Balance Index, 400M nodes).
Black: setup #319 N Q R K R N B B
King on the d-file, rooks on c, e, queen on the b-file; one 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 319 gives White +0.20 (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 55.
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 0 and +30 cp before settling — a reminder that quick engine checks overstate imbalances, and why the ladder goes deep.
For comparison, in symmetric play setup 74 gives White +0.25 and setup 319 gives White +0.20: 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 d4; the alternatives are slightly weaker but keep the game level.
Along the engine's main line (30 moves) the evaluation stayed within ±21 cp the whole way: the balance holds as the pieces come out, not only on move one.
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 | +1 | 1. e3 c5 2. Nb3 c4 3. Na5 Nb6 4. Nc3 Ne6 |
| S1 | 500 000 | 18 | +2 | 1. d4 c5 2. dxc5 Ne6 3. f3 Nxc5 4. Bg3 d6 |
| S2 | 2 000 000 | 21 | +30 | 1. d4 g6 2. O-O-O c5 3. dxc5 Ne6 4. Bc3 Bxc3 |
| S3 | 8 000 000 | 30 | +13 | 1. d4 g6 2. O-O-O c5 3. dxc5 Ne6 4. Bc3 Bxc3 |
| S4 | 32 000 000 | 35 | +13 | 1. d4 c5 2. dxc5 Ne6 3. f3 Nxc5 4. Bg3 d6 |
| S5 | 128 000 000 | 49 | 0 | 1. d4 g6 2. O-O-O f5 3. Nb3 Bxb3 4. axb3 c5 |
| S6 | 400 000 000 | 54 | 0 | 1. d4 g6 2. O-O-O f5 3. Nb3 Bxb3 4. axb3 c5 |
| S7 | 800 000 000 | 55 | 0 | 1. d4 g6 2. O-O-O f5 3. Nb3 Bxb3 4. axb3 c5 |
| S8 | 1 600 000 000 | 55 | 0 | 1. d4 g6 2. O-O-O Nb6 3. Nb3 c5 4. Nxc5 e5 |
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: 0
- Lc0 0.32.1: +5
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 +34, difference +18. 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 | 0 | 41 | 1. d4 g6 2. O-O-O f5 3. Nb3 Bxb3 4. axb3 c5 5. d5 c4 |
| 2 | -33 | 41 | 1. e3 f5 2. Na3 c5 3. d4 g6 4. O-O-O Ne6 5. Nb3 Bf7 |
| 3 | -42 | 40 | 1. O-O-O c5 2. g4 g6 3. e3 f5 4. gxf5 Bxa2 5. fxg6 Nxg6 |
Main-line play-out
30 moves, 5 000 000 nodes per half-move. Largest |evaluation| 21 cp, mean 3.6 cp, final 0 cp.
| # | White | cp | Black | cp |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | d4 | +15 | c5 | +14 |
| 2 | dxc5 | +18 | g6 | +8 |
| 3 | Bc3 | +9 | Bxc3 | +21 |
| 4 | Nxc3 | +14 | Ne6 | +3 |
| 5 | f3 | +6 | Nxc5 | +10 |
| 6 | Qd4 | +4 | f5 | +6 |
| 7 | Nb3 | +9 | Qc7 | +3 |
| 8 | e3 | +8 | a6 | 0 |
| 9 | O-O-O | 0 | Nb6 | 0 |
| 10 | Kb1 | 0 | d6 | +3 |
| 11 | Nxc5 | +4 | Qxc5 | -3 |
| 12 | h4 | 0 | Nd5 | -10 |
| 13 | Qxc5 | +8 | Rxc5 | 0 |
| 14 | Nxd5 | 0 | Rxd5 | -10 |
| 15 | Bd3 | +5 | Be6 | 0 |
| 16 | b3 | +10 | Re5 | 0 |
| 17 | Rhe1 | 0 | Bd7 | 0 |
| 18 | Kb2 | 0 | Bc6 | 0 |
| 19 | a3 | +2 | Kc7 | 0 |
| 20 | a4 | 0 | a5 | -7 |
| 21 | Re2 | -3 | h6 | 0 |
| 22 | Rde1 | 0 | Rg8 | -1 |
| 23 | f4 | 0 | Re6 | 0 |
| 24 | g3 | 0 | Rf8 | 0 |
| 25 | Rf2 | 0 | Ref6 | 0 |
| 26 | Rg1 | 0 | Re6 | 0 |
| 27 | Re1 | 0 | Ref6 | 0 |
| 28 | c3 | 0 | Re6 | 0 |
| 29 | Bc4 | 0 | Ref6 | 0 |
| 30 | Bd3 | 0 | Re6 | 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 71.0 moves.
Sample game 1 (1/2-1/2)
1. d4 c5 2. dxc5 Ne6 3. f3 Nxc5 4. Bg3 d6 5. e4 f5 6. e5 g5 7. O-O-O f4 8. Bf2 Qc7 9. exd6 exd6 10. Bd4 Be5 11. Nc3 O-O-O 12. Nb3 a6 13. Bxe5 Rxe5 14. h4 Nxb3+ 15. axb3 h6 16. hxg5 hxg5 17. Qd4 Qb6 18. Rh5 Qxd4 19. Rxd4 d5 20. Rd1 Nc7 21. Rh6 g4 22. Rh4 d4 23. Ne4 Be6 24. Bc4 Nd5 25. Nc5 Bf5 26. Rxd4 Ne3 27. Rxd8+ Kxd8 28. Nd3 Re8 29. fxg4 Nxg2 30. Rh2 Be4 31. Rh6 Ne3 32. g5 Nxc4 33. bxc4 f3 34. Kd2 Bc6 35. Rd6+ Kc7 36. Rf6 Re2+ 37. Kc3 Rg2 38. Nf4 Rg1 39. g6 a5 40. b3 f2 41. Ne6+ Kb8 42. g7 Bd7 43. Rf8+ Ka7 44. Nd4 Rg3+ 45. Kb2 Rxg7 46. Rxf2 Kb6 47. Rf6+ Kc7 48. Ne2 Rg5 49. Nf4 Kb8 50. Rd6 Bc6 51. Kc3 Rg3+ 52. Kd4 Ka7 53. Re6 Rg4 54. Rf6 Kb6 55. Kc3 Rg5 56. Rh6 Rg1 57. Rh5 Rg3+ 58. Kb2 Re3 59. Rg5 Ka6 60. Nd3 Kb6 61. Nf4 Re4 62. Rf5 Kc7 63. Rf6 Kb6 64. Ne6 Rh4 65. Nf4 Rh2 66. Nd3 Kc7 67. Rf7+ Kb6 68. Rf5 Rh6 69. Nf4 Rh2 70. Rf6 Ka7 71. Ne6 Rh4 72. Nf4 Rh2 73. Ne6 Rh4 74. Rf5 Kb6 75. Rf2 Bd7 76. Nf4 Bc6 77. Ne2 Rh3 78. Nd4 Rh5 79. Re2 Bd7 80. Rf2 Kc5 81. Rd2 Kb6 82. Rg2 Bc6 83. Re2 Bd7 84. c3 Kc7 85. Ka3 Kd6 86. Rf2 Re5 87. Rf6+ Kc7 88. Rh6 b6 89. Kb2 Rg5 90. Rh2 Kc8 91. Rh8+ Kb7 92. Ka3 Rc5 93. Rh7 Kc8 94. Rh6 Kb7 95. Rd6 Kc7 96. Rd5 Rxd5 97. cxd5 Kd6 98. c4 Kc5 99. Ne6+ Kd6 100. Nd8 Kc5 101. Ne6+ Kd6 102. Nd4 Kc5
Sample game 2 (1/2-1/2)
1. d4 c5 2. dxc5 g6 3. O-O-O Ne6 4. f3 Nxc5 5. Bg3 d6 6. e4 Nd7 7. Bf2 Qc7 8. Bd4 Bxd4 9. Qxd4 f6 10. Nc3 Nab6 11. g3 a6 12. f4 O-O-O 13. Nb3 Kb8 14. Qb4 Nc4 15. Bxc4 Bxc4 16. Nd5 Bxd5 17. exd5 Rc8 18. c3 e5 19. dxe6 Rxe6 20. Rhe1 Rce8 21. Rxe6 Rxe6 22. Qd4 Nb6 23. Qf2 f5 24. Re1 Rxe1+ 25. Qxe1 Qf7 26. Kb1 Nd7 27. Nd4 Nc5 28. b3 Qd5 29. b4 Ne4 30. Kb2 Qc4 31. g4 Qd3 32. gxf5 gxf5 33. Nxf5 Nxc3 34. Qxc3 Qxf5 35. Qd4 Kc7 36. a4 Kd7 37. Qg7+ Kc6 38. Qd4 Kd7 39. Qg7+ Kc8 40. Qg8+ Kd7
Play it in the CH960 app
Open this page on a phone with the CH960 app installed, or find pair 74 / 319 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): nqrkrnbb/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/NNRKBBQR w CHce - 0 1
Mirror twin (the same position mirrored): White 885 vs Black 352.
Current place in the live balance rating: 95.