Starting position #246
Back-rank setup: NRBKQBNR
SP-246 · ThroneScout — King on a central file (d/e) with a knight starting on the rim (a/h).
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 h1, the queen on e1.
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 c1 and f1; their long diagonals reach h6 and a6 once the d- and e-pawns step aside.
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 614.
The engine's main line opens with e4, putting a pawn straight into the centre.
Every sentence here is computed from the setup itself and can be checked on the board.
Balance
MBI 31 Morozov Balance Index: 31 of 100 — class C — noticeable edge.
- Engine evaluation of the starting position: +32 centipawns for White (depth 44, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 676 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): +65 → +61 → +42 → +20
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #614
- The king starts on d, the rooks on b and h
- It becomes the daily position in 439 days
Puzzles from this position
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to b8 (a7·4) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to h5 (a5) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to e4 (d3·45) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Winning blow: bishop to g4 (e2·2) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Attack on the uncastled king: bishop to b5 (d3·5) — Chess960 specifics · 1110
- Winning blow: pawn to d3 (c2·18) — Chess960 specifics · 1200
- Attack on the uncastled king: knight to c6 (d4·20) — Chess960 specifics · 1450
- Winning blow: knight to c5 (b3·14) — Chess960 specifics · 1560
- Winning blow: queen to b8 (g3·4) — Chess960 specifics · 1870
- Mate in 3: queen to e7 (e5·4) — Chess960 specifics · 2170
This position appears in course day 56
In your browser or in the Android app. Nothing to install · Free, no ads
Commentary
The king begins on d1 with the queen beside him on e1, and castling is ordinary in both directions. A knight starts in the corner on a1 with b3 as its only move; the knight on g1 has the classical f3 and h3. On the second rank, a2 has no defender at all. The bishops are on c1 and f1, the rooks on b1 and h1. The engine's main line opens e4 e5, then Nf3 Nb6 d4 d5.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.