Starting position #317
Back-rank setup: NQRBKRBN
SP-317 · ThroneScout — King in the middle of the rank, with a knight already committed to the corner.
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 c1 and f1, the queen on b1.
The kingside rook already stands on f1, so castling short moves only the king, from e1 to g1.
The bishops stand on d1 and g1; their long diagonals reach h5 and a7 once the e- and f-pawns step aside.
One second-rank pawn starts with no defender at all: g2.
The setup belongs to the ThroneScout family; read right to left it becomes position 360.
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 10 Morozov Balance Index: 10 of 100 — class D — largest edge.
- Engine evaluation of the starting position: +43 centipawns for White (depth 45, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 870 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): +59 → -20 → 0
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #360
- The king starts on e, the rooks on c and f
- King and rook are neighbours — castling from adjacent squares feels unusual
- This position does not come up as the daily position in the next four years
Puzzles from this position
- Attack on the uncastled king: bishop to g4 (e2) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to f4 (g3·43) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Winning blow: queen to e7 (h7) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Attack on the uncastled king: bishop to d7 (a4·6) — Chess960 specifics · 1150
- Mate in 2: bishop to h6 (e3) — Chess960 specifics · 1220
- Mate in 2: knight to c6 (d4·3) — Chess960 specifics · 1320
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to g7 (g4·2) — Chess960 specifics · 1390
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to f7 (g6·6) — Chess960 specifics · 1450
- Winning blow: queen to f7 (f3·6) — Chess960 specifics · 1510
- Winning blow: bishop to g5 (e3·9) — Chess960 specifics · 1750
This position appears in course day 43
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Commentary
The rook already occupies f1, so short castling moves the king alone from e1. Both knights start in a corner, a1 and h1, each with a single move: b3 and g3. Among the pawns, g2 has no defender, and d2 leans on the king alone. The bishops are on d1 and g1, the queen on b1. The engine's line opens f4 c5, then Ng3 f5 c4 g6.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.