Starting position #277
Back-rank setup: NRBBKNRQ
SP-277 · 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 e1, the rooks on b1 and g1, the queen on h1.
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 d1; their long diagonals reach h6 and h5 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 586.
The engine's main line opens with c4.
Every sentence here is computed from the setup itself and can be checked on the board.
Balance
MBI 37 Morozov Balance Index: 37 of 100 — class C — noticeable edge.
- Engine evaluation of the starting position: +30 centipawns for White (depth 41, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 610 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): +50 → -19 → 0
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #586
- The king starts on e, the rooks on b and g
- It becomes the daily position in 420 days
Puzzles from this position
- Attack on the uncastled king: bishop to b8 — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to d4 (c3·22) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Winning blow: pawn to c3 (b2·12) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Winning blow: queen to f6 (f3) — Chess960 specifics · 1010
- Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to a5 (a4·2) — Chess960 specifics · 1110
- Mate in 2: queen to e7 (f7) — Chess960 specifics · 1320
- Castling-960 to the rescue on b8 (e8) — Castling-960 · 1340
- Mate in 3: queen to c6 (b6·3) — Chess960 specifics · 1630
- Mate in 3: queen to f5 (h5) — Chess960 specifics · 1760
- Mate in 3: queen to f7 (d5·4) — Chess960 specifics · 2210
This position appears in course day 23
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Commentary
Castling is ordinary in both directions from e1, with the rooks on b1 and g1 and the queen out in the corner on h1. The bishops stand side by side on c1 and d1, one on each colour. A knight begins in the corner on a1 with b3 as its only move, the second on f1. The pawn on a2 has no defender, and f2 leans on the king alone. The published line opens c4 a5, then Ne3 h5 a3 e6.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.