Starting position #169
Back-rank setup: NRNBBKQR
SP-169 · BastionScout — A c- or f-file king with at least one knight out on the edge.
Move the pieces right on the board — full Chess960 rules, castle by dropping the king on the rook.
Position features
The king starts on f1, the rooks on b1 and h1, the queen on g1.
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 d1 and e1; their long diagonals reach h5 and a5 once the e- and d-pawns step aside.
Every pawn on the second rank is defended from the very first move.
The setup belongs to the BastionScout family; read right to left it becomes position 793.
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 34 Morozov Balance Index: 34 of 100 — class C — noticeable edge.
- Engine evaluation of the starting position: +31 centipawns for White (depth 46, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 643 of 960 by balance — 1 is the most balanced start.
- Balance band M — moderate edge · dynamics along the play-out: equalizing
- Evaluation along the engine's main line (60 half-moves): +45 → +46 → +36 → 0
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #793
- The king starts on f, the rooks on b and h
- It becomes the daily position in 293 days
Puzzles from this position
- Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to g6 (f5) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: knight to a2 (c1·2) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: bishop to c4 (e6) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to f4 (f2) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Winning blow: king to e1 (f1·15) — Chess960 specifics · 970
- Winning blow: pawn to f6 (e5·5) — Chess960 specifics · 1060
- Winning blow: rook to d7 (d2) — Chess960 specifics · 1200
- Winning blow: knight to e5 (g6) — Chess960 specifics · 1290
- Mate in 3: queen to e6 (d7·3) — Chess960 specifics · 1630
- Chess960 tactic on e2 — Chess960 specifics · 2120
This position appears in course day 3
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Commentary
Every pawn on the second rank begins with a defender. Castling is ordinary in both directions from f1, the queen standing on g1. A knight starts in the corner on a1 with b3 as its only move, the second on c1. The bishops sit together on d1 and e1. The published line opens c4 d6, then b4 Nab6 d3 f5.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.