Starting position #247
Back-rank setup: NRBKQNRB
SP-247 · ThroneScout — A central king (d or e), but with a knight posted out on the a- or h-file.
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 g1, 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.
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 610.
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 78 Morozov Balance Index: 78 of 100 — class A — most balanced.
- Engine evaluation of the starting position: +18 centipawns for White (depth 49, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 216 of 960 by balance — 1 is the most balanced start.
- Balance band S — slight edge · dynamics along the play-out: equalizing
- Evaluation along the engine's main line (60 half-moves): +12 → +20 → +13 → 0
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #610
- The king starts on d, the rooks on b and g
- It becomes the daily position in 95 days
Puzzles from this position
- Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to f4 (g3·38) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Winning blow: knight to e6 (g7·3) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Winning blow: queen to h3 (g4) — Chess960 specifics · 970
- Winning blow: queen to c8 (c2) — Chess960 specifics · 1010
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to a7 (a5·6) — Chess960 specifics · 1110
- Winning blow: bishop to d3 (e2·6) — Chess960 specifics · 1200
- Winning blow: knight to e3 (d1·5) — Chess960 specifics · 1280
- Mate in 2: rook to e8 (e3·4) — Chess960 specifics · 1450
- Mate in 3: queen to a5 (d2) — Chess960 specifics · 1630
- Mate in 3: queen to d7 (b5·3) — Chess960 specifics · 1990
This position appears in course day 107
In your browser or in the Android app. Nothing to install · Free, no ads
Commentary
Castling is ordinary in both directions from d1, with the rooks on b1 and g1. A knight is in the corner on a1 with b3 as its only move; a bishop holds the corner on h1 with one diagonal to a8. The pawn on a2 begins with no defender at all. The queen stands on e1 next to the king, the second bishop on c1. The published line opens g3 g6, then d3 d6 Ne3 Qa4 — the black queen swings out to a4 on the sixth half-move.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.