Starting position #111
Back-rank setup: QNRNKRBB
SP-111 · ThroneGuard — Both knights start on inner files (b–g) while the king sits centrally on d or e — one of 204 positions filed here.
Move the pieces right on the board — full Chess960 rules, castle by dropping the king on the rook.
Position features
The king starts on e1, the rooks on c1 and f1, the queen on a1.
The kingside rook already stands on f1, so castling short moves only the king, from e1 to g1.
A bishop starts in the corner on h1: it has a single diagonal, which the g-pawn unlocks, running out to a8.
The pawn on e2 is defended by the king alone — the same soft spot f2 is in the classical setup.
The setup belongs to the ThroneGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 848.
The engine's main line opens with b4.
Every sentence here is computed from the setup itself and can be checked on the board.
Balance
MBI 5 Morozov Balance Index: 5 of 100 — class D — largest edge.
- Engine evaluation of the starting position: +49 centipawns for White (depth 48, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 920 of 960 by balance — 1 is the most balanced start.
- Balance band L — large edge · dynamics along the play-out: sharpening
- Evaluation along the engine's main line (60 half-moves): +50 → +78 → +36 → +69
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #848
- The king starts on e, the rooks on c and f
- King and rook are neighbours — castling from adjacent squares feels unusual
- It becomes the daily position in 354 days
Puzzles from this position
- Attack on the uncastled king: bishop to d5 — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: knight to g4 (e3·3) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: rook to c2 (c1) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: rook to d4 (d1·8) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: bishop to d5 (h1·19) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to h4 (h3·4) — Chess960 specifics · 1060
- Winning blow: queen to e2 (h5) — Chess960 specifics · 1110
- Winning blow: bishop to c6 (d5·3) — Chess960 specifics · 1510
- Winning blow: queen to g6 (g4·6) — Chess960 specifics · 1870
- Chess960 tactic on f6 (d6) — Chess960 specifics · 2250
This position appears in course day 45
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Commentary
The rook already occupies f1, so short castling moves the king alone from e1. The queen begins in the corner on a1, a bishop in the corner on h1 with one diagonal to a8. On the second rank, e2 is defended by the king alone. The second bishop is on g1, the knights on b1 and d1. The line in the dataset opens b4 f5, then f4 c6 a4 a5 — the wing pawns move first on both sides.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.