Starting position #313
Back-rank setup: NQRBBKRN
SP-313 · 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 f1, the rooks on c1 and g1, the queen on b1.
Castling short simply swaps the two pieces: the king on f1 and the rook on g1 trade places.
The bishops stand on d1 and e1; their long diagonals reach h5 and a5 once the e- and d-pawns step aside.
One second-rank pawn starts with no defender at all: h2.
The setup belongs to the BastionScout family; read right to left it becomes position 361.
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 21 Morozov Balance Index: 21 of 100 — class D — largest edge.
- Engine evaluation of the starting position: +36 centipawns for White (depth 47, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 758 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): +31 → +47 → +18 → 0
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #361
- The king starts on f, the rooks on c and g
- King and rook are neighbours — castling from adjacent squares feels unusual
- It becomes the daily position in 121 days
Puzzles from this position
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to f4 (e3) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to c1 — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Winning blow: queen to b4 — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Winning blow: bishop to a7 (b6) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to g7 (h7·8) — Chess960 specifics · 1010
- Winning blow: knight to f6 (e4·13) — Chess960 specifics · 1150
- Mate in 2: knight to e7 (f5·4) — Chess960 specifics · 1320
- Mate in 3: knight to e7 (f5·3) — Chess960 specifics · 1630
- Winning blow: bishop to a4 (d1·2) — Chess960 specifics · 1700
- Mate in 3: pawn to g4 (f3·2) — Chess960 specifics · 1980
This position appears in course day 27
In your browser or in the Android app. Nothing to install · Free, no ads
Commentary
Short castling swaps the king on f1 with the rook on g1. Both knights start in a corner, a1 and h1, each with a single move: b3 and g3. The bishops stand side by side on d1 and e1, the queen on b1. The pawn on h2 is the only one starting without a defender. The published line opens c4 c5, then both sides castle: O-O O-O Ng3 d6.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.