Starting position #279
Back-rank setup: NRBKNRQB
SP-279 · ThroneScout — Centre-file king, rim knight: 204 of the 960 positions share this pattern.
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 f1, the queen on g1.
The kingside rook already stands on f1, so castling short moves only the king, from d1 to g1.
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 578.
The engine's main line opens with f4.
Every sentence here is computed from the setup itself and can be checked on the board.
Balance
MBI 3 Morozov Balance Index: 3 of 100 — class D — largest edge.
- Engine evaluation of the starting position: +51 centipawns for White (depth 46, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 934 of 960 by balance — 1 is the most balanced start.
- Balance band L — large edge · dynamics along the play-out: volatile
- Evaluation along the engine's main line (60 half-moves): +53 → +143 → +159 → +252
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #578
- The king starts on d, the rooks on b and f
- It becomes the daily position in 158 days
Puzzles from this position
- Winning blow: bishop to e3 — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to e6 (d5·16) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to e7 (c5) — Chess960 specifics · 850
- Winning blow: pawn to a8 (a7) — Chess960 specifics · 970
- Winning blow: pawn to f3 (e2·9) — Chess960 specifics · 1060
- Winning blow: king to c3 (b2) — Chess960 specifics · 1200
- Winning blow: bishop to b7 (g2·3) — Chess960 specifics · 1510
- Mate in 3: queen to f7 (g7·2) — Chess960 specifics · 1630
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to d4 (g1·7) — Chess960 specifics · 1760
- Chess960 tactic on c6 (e4) — Chess960 specifics · 2250
This position appears in course day 20
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Commentary
The rook already occupies f1, so short castling moves the king alone from d1. A bishop holds the corner on h1 with one diagonal to a8; the second bishop is on c1. A knight is in the corner on a1 with a single move, b3, the second on e1. On the second rank, a2 has no defender, and e2 leans on the king alone. White's edge here is one of the wider ones, +51 centipawns, and the line runs f4 b6 b4 c6 Nb3 Nac7.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.