Starting position #207
Back-rank setup: QNRKNRBB
SP-207 · 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 d1, the rooks on c1 and f1, the queen on a1.
Castling long simply swaps the two pieces: the king on d1 and the rook on c1 trade places.
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 656.
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 37 Morozov Balance Index: 37 of 100 — class C — noticeable edge.
- Engine evaluation of the starting position: +30 centipawns for White (depth 43, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 611 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): +53 → +13 → +9 → 0
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #656
- The king starts on d, the rooks on c and f
- King and rook are neighbours — castling from adjacent squares feels unusual
- This position does not come up as the daily position in the next four years
Puzzles from this position
- Attack on the uncastled king: bishop to a8 (h1·3) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to d5 (c4·71) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: bishop to b8 (g3·5) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Winning blow: king to c1 (d2) — Chess960 specifics · 970
- Winning blow: bishop to e1 (f2·3) — Chess960 specifics · 1110
- Winning blow: pawn to e5 (e4·6) — Chess960 specifics · 1250
- Mate in 2: queen to f6 (b2·6) — Chess960 specifics · 1450
- Mate in 3: bishop to f6 (g5·2) — Chess960 specifics · 1630
- Winning blow: queen to c8 (b7·3) — Chess960 specifics · 1870
- Chess960 tactic on c7 (d5) — Chess960 specifics · 2250
This position appears in course day 26
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Commentary
Two castling quirks meet here: the long one swaps the king on d1 with the rook on c1, and the short one moves the king alone, because the rook already stands on f1. The queen is in the corner on a1, a bishop in the corner on h1 with one diagonal to a8. Among the pawns, e2 is the one the king alone defends. The second bishop is on g1, the knights on b1 and e1. The line in the dataset opens b4 f5, then f4 Bf7 c4 g6.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.