Starting position #253
Back-rank setup: NRKBQNBR
SP-253 · BastionScout — A c- or f-file king with at least one knight out on the edge.
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 e1.
The king already stands on c1, so castling long moves only the rook, from b1 to d1.
The bishops stand on d1 and g1; their long diagonals reach h5 and a7 once the e- and f-pawns step aside.
The second rank carries 2 pawns with no defender at all: a2, g2.
The setup belongs to the BastionScout family; read right to left it becomes position 616.
The engine's main line opens with a4.
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 45, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 517 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): +27 → +26 → +10 → +5
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #616
- The king starts on c, the rooks on b and h
- King and rook are neighbours — castling from adjacent squares feels unusual
- This position does not come up as the daily position in the next four years
Puzzles from this position
- Attack on the uncastled king: bishop to g4 — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to c4 (b3·32) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Winning blow: rook to g8 — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Winning blow: queen to a5 (b4·2) — Chess960 specifics · 1060
- Mate in 2: bishop to c7 (e5) — Chess960 specifics · 1220
- Mate in 2: queen to f8 (f2·4) — Chess960 specifics · 1320
- Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to e6 (f5·29) — Chess960 specifics · 1440
- Attack on the uncastled king: king to e2 (d2·2) — Chess960 specifics · 1470
- Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to e7 (d6·6) — Chess960 specifics · 1870
- Chess960 tactic on b7 (f3) — Chess960 specifics · 2400
This position appears in course day 2
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Commentary
The king already stands on c1, so long castling moves the rook alone from b1. A knight begins in the corner on a1 with b3 as its only move, the second on f1. The pawns on a2 and g2 both start with no defender at all. The queen is on e1, the bishops on d1 and g1. The published line opens a4 f5, then f3 a5 e4 fxe4.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.