Starting position #250
Back-rank setup: NRKQBBNR
SP-250 · BastionScout — A knight on the a- or h-file, king on c or f — the mirror twin lands here as well.
Move the pieces right on the board — full Chess960 rules, castle by dropping the king on the rook.
Position features
The king starts on c1, the rooks on b1 and h1, the queen on d1.
The king already stands on c1, so castling long moves only the rook, from b1 to d1.
The bishops stand on e1 and f1; their long diagonals reach a5 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 BastionScout family; read right to left it becomes position 613.
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 18 Morozov Balance Index: 18 of 100 — class D — largest edge.
- Engine evaluation of the starting position: +38 centipawns for White (depth 45, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 792 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): +39 → +8 → 0
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #613
- The king starts on c, the rooks on b and h
- King and rook are neighbours — castling from adjacent squares feels unusual
- It becomes the daily position in 338 days
Puzzles from this position
- Attack on the uncastled king: knight to g5 (h3) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to d7 (d6) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to e7 (e4·5) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Winning blow: bishop to c6 (b5·5) — Chess960 specifics · 1060
- Attack on the uncastled king: king to d2 (c1·8) — Chess960 specifics · 1110
- Winning blow: pawn to d7 (d6·4) — Chess960 specifics · 1200
- Winning blow: knight to f7 (d6·4) — Chess960 specifics · 1390
- Mate in 2: queen to c6 (a4) — Chess960 specifics · 1440
- Mate in 3: rook to a3 — Chess960 specifics · 1630
- Chess960 tactic on d6 (d1·2) — Chess960 specifics · 2120
This position appears in course day 57
In your browser or in the Android app. Nothing to install · Free, no ads
Commentary
The king starts on c1 with the queen beside him on d1, so long castling moves the rook alone, from b1 to d1's neighbour. A knight begins in the corner on a1 with b3 as its only move, the second on g1. Among the pawns, a2 starts without a defender. The bishops stand together on e1 and f1. The main line of the run opens e4 e5, then Nb3 Qe7 Qe2, and Black castles long: O-O-O.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.