Starting position #15
Back-rank setup: QNNRKRBB
SP-15 · 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 d1 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.
One second-rank pawn starts with no defender at all: c2.
The setup belongs to the ThroneGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 944.
The engine's main line opens with b3.
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 43, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 531 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): +31 → +8 → 0
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #944
- The king starts on e, the rooks on d and f
- King and rook are neighbours — castling from adjacent squares feels unusual
- It becomes the daily position in 118 days
Puzzles from this position
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to e5 — Chess960 specifics · 620
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to c7 (c3) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: rook to f6 — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Winning blow: queen to e4 (e2·2) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Winning blow: knight to e6 (g5·6) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Winning blow: knight to b2 (c4·2) — Chess960 specifics · 1010
- Winning blow: rook to b1 (d1·3) — Chess960 specifics · 1200
- Winning blow: knight to e6 (c5·21) — Chess960 specifics · 1510
- Mate in 3: bishop to f3 — Chess960 specifics · 1630
- Winning blow: knight to d5 (f6·3) — Chess960 specifics · 2060
This position appears in course day 2
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Commentary
Both rooks are already on their castled squares: d1 and f1. Whichever way this king castles, from e1, only the king moves. The queen begins in the corner on a1; a bishop holds the other corner on h1, with the g-pawn unlocking its one diagonal to a8. The second bishop, on g1, opens along the f-pawn and the h-pawn. On the second rank, c2 begins with no defender. The line in the dataset opens b3 d5, then Nd3 h6 g4 Nc6.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.