Starting position #239
Back-rank setup: NRQKNRBB
SP-239 · ThroneScout — King in the middle of the rank, with a knight already committed to the corner.
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 b1 and f1, the queen on c1.
The kingside rook already stands on f1, so castling short moves only the king, from d1 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: a2.
The setup belongs to the ThroneScout family; read right to left it becomes position 624.
The engine's main line opens with f4.
Every sentence here is computed from the setup itself and can be checked on the board.
Balance
MBI 26 Morozov Balance Index: 26 of 100 — class C — noticeable edge.
- Engine evaluation of the starting position: +34 centipawns for White (depth 46, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 714 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): +34 → +11 → +2 → +4
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #624
- The king starts on d, the rooks on b and f
- It becomes the daily position in 591 days
Puzzles from this position
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to a4 — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to e4 (d3·17) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Winning blow: rook to b5 — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to a4 (a3) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Winning blow: queen to g7 (f8) — Chess960 specifics · 1060
- Attack on the uncastled king: knight to c2 (e1·6) — Chess960 specifics · 1200
- Winning blow: king to b1 (c1·36) — Chess960 specifics · 1390
- Mate in 3: rook to g7 (g1·2) — Chess960 specifics · 1630
- Mate in 3: queen to f8 (b4·2) — Chess960 specifics · 1630
- Winning blow: pawn to g3 (h2·17) — Chess960 specifics · 2120
This position appears in course day 62
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Commentary
The rook already occupies f1, so short castling moves the king alone from d1. A knight begins in the corner on a1 with a single move, b3; a bishop holds the corner on h1 with one diagonal to a8. Among the pawns, a2 has no defender at all, and e2 only the king. The queen is on c1 next to the king, the second bishop on g1. The engine's line opens f4 f5, then c4 c5 b4 b5.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.