Starting position #243
Back-rank setup: BNRKQNRB
SP-243 · 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 g1, the queen on e1.
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 a1: it has a single diagonal, which the b-pawn unlocks, running out to h8.
One second-rank pawn starts with no defender at all: a2.
The setup belongs to the ThroneGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 611.
The engine's main line opens with g3.
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 518 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): +12 → -1 → 0
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #611
- The king starts on d, the rooks on c and g
- King and rook are neighbours — castling from adjacent squares feels unusual
- It becomes the daily position in 14 days
Puzzles from this position
- Attack on the uncastled king: bishop to d4 (a1·5) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to e5 (d4·34) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: bishop to d4 (a1·9) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: bishop to f6 (a1·17) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to a7 (a5·2) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to b5 (b4) — Chess960 specifics · 1110
- Mate in 2: rook to c8 (c7·3) — Chess960 specifics · 1220
- Mate in 3: rook to g4 (g1) — Chess960 specifics · 1630
- Winning blow: pawn to f4 (g3·21) — Chess960 specifics · 1870
- Winning blow: queen to c3 (d2·2) — Chess960 specifics · 2060
This position appears in course day 40
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Commentary
Long castling swaps the king on d1 with the rook on c1. Both corners hold a bishop, a1 towards h8 and h1 towards a8, each with a single diagonal. On the second rank, a2 begins with no defender at all. The queen stands on e1, the knights on b1 and f1. The line in the dataset opens g3 g5, then White castles long — O-O-O — and it continues Nc6 e4 b6.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.