Starting position #122
Back-rank setup: NQRNBBKR
SP-122 · RampartScout — The king starts on b or g while a knight begins on the a- or h-file — the smallest family.
Move the pieces right on the board — full Chess960 rules, castle by dropping the king on the rook.
Position features
The king starts on g1, the rooks on c1 and h1, the queen on b1.
The king already stands on its castled square, so castling short moves only the rook, from h1 to f1.
The bishops stand on e1 and f1; their long diagonals reach a5 and a6 once the d- and e-pawns step aside.
Every pawn on the second rank is defended from the very first move.
The setup belongs to the RampartScout family; read right to left it becomes position 837.
The engine's main line opens with d4, putting a pawn straight into the centre.
Every sentence here is computed from the setup itself and can be checked on the board.
Opening: main line
Stockfish's main line from the start of this setup, 15 moves deep (100 million nodes per move):
1. h4 c5 2. h5 d5 3. c4 d4 4. b4 e5 5. Nb3 Nc7 6. bxc5 Nce6 7. e3 a5 8. Nxa5 Bxc5 9. exd4 exd4 10. Nb3 h6
Evaluation after the line: +0.28 for White.
Best first moves for White (evaluation in pawns):
- h4 — +0.36
- c4 — +0.36
- Nb3 — +0.33
Balance
MBI 37 Morozov Balance Index: 37 of 100 — class C — noticeable edge.
- Engine evaluation of the starting position: +30 centipawns for White (depth 48, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 615 of 960 by balance — 1 is the most balanced start.
- Balance band M — moderate edge · dynamics along the play-out: stable
- Evaluation along the engine's main line (32 half-moves): +43 → +31 → 0
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #837
- The king starts on g, the rooks on c and h
- King and rook are neighbours — castling from adjacent squares feels unusual
- It becomes the daily position in 306 days
Puzzles from this position
- Attack on the uncastled king: rook to c5 — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to c6 (d5·7) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to f4 (e3·10) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to a3 (b2·27) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Winning blow: pawn to f6 (g5·11) — Chess960 specifics · 1200
- Attack on the uncastled king: knight to f6 (e4·16) — Chess960 specifics · 1290
- Castling-960 to the rescue on h8 (g8·4) — Castling-960 · 1470
- Mate in 3: bishop to c1 — Chess960 specifics · 1630
- Mate in 3: queen to f7 (e8) — Chess960 specifics · 1630
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to f7 (f3·8) — Chess960 specifics · 1670
This position appears in course day 59
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Commentary
Every pawn on the second rank starts with a defender here. The king is already on g1, so short castling moves the rook alone. A knight begins in the corner on a1 with a single move, b3. The queen holds b1, the bishops e1 and f1. The recorded line opens d4 d5, then h4 Nb6 h5 e6.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.