Starting position #283
Back-rank setup: NRKNBRQB
SP-283 · 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 f1, the queen on g1.
The king already stands on c1, so castling long moves only the rook, from b1 to d1.
A bishop starts in the corner on h1: it has a single diagonal, which the g-pawn unlocks, running out to a8.
The second rank carries 2 pawns with no defender at all: a2, e2.
The setup belongs to the BastionScout family; read right to left it becomes position 577.
The engine's main line opens with g4.
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 514 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 → 0 → -3 → 0
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #577
- The king starts on c, the rooks on b and f
- King and rook are neighbours — castling from adjacent squares feels unusual
- It becomes the daily position in 527 days
Puzzles from this position
- Attack on the uncastled king: rook to f4 (f1) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: bishop to h5 (f3·4) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Winning blow: rook to e5 (e1·2) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Attack on the uncastled king: knight to e7 (d5·12) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Attack on the uncastled king: knight to a7 (b5·9) — Chess960 specifics · 1060
- Mate in 2: queen to a6 (a5) — Chess960 specifics · 1090
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to e8 (f8·2) — Chess960 specifics · 1630
- Mate in 3: rook to a7 (f7) — Chess960 specifics · 1630
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to d8 (g8) — Chess960 specifics · 1670
- Mate in 3: queen to e7 (e1·4) — Chess960 specifics · 2170
This position appears in course day 53
In your browser or in the Android app. Nothing to install · Free, no ads
Commentary
Both castlings are half-moves here: the king already stands on c1 for the long one, and the rook already occupies f1 for the short. A bishop holds the corner on h1 with one diagonal to a8; the second bishop is on e1 and reaches h4 once the f-pawn moves. The knights are on a1 and d1, the corner one with b3 as its only move. The pawns on a2 and e2 both begin with no defender at all. The published line opens g4 g6, then f4 f5 Bh4 Qf7.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.