Starting position #256
Back-rank setup: BBNRKNQR
SP-256 · ThroneGuard — A centre-file king with no knight on the edge; a position and its mirror twin always share this family.
Move the pieces right on the board — full Chess960 rules, castle by dropping the king on the rook.
Position features
The king starts on e1, the rooks on d1 and h1, the queen on g1.
The queenside rook already stands on d1, so castling long moves only the king, from e1 to c1.
A bishop starts in the corner on a1: it has a single diagonal, which the b-pawn unlocks, running out to h8.
Every pawn on the second rank is defended from the very first move.
The setup belongs to the ThroneGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 607.
The engine's main line opens with d4, 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 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 516 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): +29 → +20 → 0
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #607
- The king starts on e, the rooks on d and h
- King and rook are neighbours — castling from adjacent squares feels unusual
- It becomes the daily position in 251 days
Puzzles from this position
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to g3 — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to e5 (d4·66) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Winning blow: queen to f7 (b3) — Chess960 specifics · 970
- Winning blow: queen to b4 (f4·2) — Chess960 specifics · 970
- Attack on the uncastled king: bishop to g6 (b1·12) — Chess960 specifics · 1110
- Winning blow: rook to d6 (d1·14) — Chess960 specifics · 1250
- Mate in 2: queen to e7 (e2) — Chess960 specifics · 1320
- Winning blow: rook to h7 (h1·9) — Chess960 specifics · 1340
- Mate in 3: queen to f5 (g4·3) — Chess960 specifics · 1630
- Winning blow: knight to b6 (c4·16) — Chess960 specifics · 1870
This position appears in course day 60
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Commentary
The rook already occupies d1, so long castling moves the king alone from e1. A bishop is shut into the corner on a1 with a single diagonal to h8; the second works the light squares from b1. Every pawn on the second rank begins with a defender — this setup concedes nothing on move one. The queen is on g1, the knights on c1 and f1. The engine takes the centre with d4, and the line runs d4 f6 b3 d5 f3 Nd6.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.