Starting position #126
Back-rank setup: NQRNKBBR
SP-126 · ThroneScout — King on a central file (d/e) with a knight starting on the rim (a/h).
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 h1, the queen on b1.
Castling ends where it always does: king to g1 and rook to f1 on the short side, king to c1 and rook to d1 on the long one.
The bishops stand on f1 and g1; their long diagonals reach a6 and a7 once the e- and f-pawns step aside.
The pawn on d2 is defended by the king alone — the same soft spot f2 is in the classical setup.
The setup belongs to the ThroneScout family; read right to left it becomes position 836.
The engine's main line opens with c4.
Every sentence here is computed from the setup itself and can be checked on the board.
Balance
MBI 47 Morozov Balance Index: 47 of 100 — class C — noticeable edge.
- Engine evaluation of the starting position: +27 centipawns for White (depth 47, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 525 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 (60 half-moves): +40 → +22 → +20 → 0
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #836
- The king starts on e, the rooks on c and h
- It becomes the daily position in 378 days
Puzzles from this position
- Winning blow: queen to d3 — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to g6 (h5·8) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to g5 (h4·20) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Winning blow: bishop to d5 (f3) — Chess960 specifics · 1060
- Winning blow: rook to f8 (d8·3) — Chess960 specifics · 1280
- Attack on the uncastled king: knight to d5 (e7) — Chess960 specifics · 1340
- Winning blow: queen to g8 (g5·3) — Chess960 specifics · 1430
- Mate in 3: rook to h8 (h7) — Chess960 specifics · 1630
- Mate in 3: rook to c7 (c1·2) — Chess960 specifics · 1760
- Mate in 3: queen to c7 (c8) — Chess960 specifics · 1980
This position appears in course day 71
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Commentary
The king begins on e1 with castling ordinary both ways, while the rooks start on c1 and h1. A knight is in the corner on a1 with b3 as its only move. The pawn on d2 is defended by the king alone, the role the pawn on f2 carries in the classical setup. The queen stands on b1, the bishops on f1 and g1. The engine's main line opens c4 c5, then e3 e6 Nc3 h6.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.