Starting position #328
Back-rank setup: NBRQBKRN
SP-328 · BastionScout — A knight on the a- or h-file, king on c or f — the mirror twin lands here as well.
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 d1.
Castling short simply swaps the two pieces: the king on f1 and the rook on g1 trade places.
The bishops stand on b1 and e1; their long diagonals reach h7 and a5 once the c- and d-pawns step aside.
The second rank carries 2 pawns with no defender at all: b2, h2.
The setup belongs to the BastionScout family; read right to left it becomes position 349.
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 5 Morozov Balance Index: 5 of 100 — class D — largest edge.
- Engine evaluation of the starting position: +49 centipawns for White (depth 49, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 917 of 960 by balance — 1 is the most balanced start.
- Balance band L — large edge · dynamics along the play-out: equalizing
- Evaluation along the engine's main line (60 half-moves): +49 → +19 → 0
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #349
- The king starts on f, the rooks on c and g
- 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 e7 (b4) — Chess960 specifics · 620
- Attack on the uncastled king: rook to c5 (c1·4) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Mate in 1: bishop to h7 (e4) — Chess960 specifics · 850
- Attack on the uncastled king: rook to d8 (d3) — Chess960 specifics · 1060
- Winning blow: pawn to f5 (g4·11) — Chess960 specifics · 1200
- Mate in 2: queen to f7 (d5·3) — Chess960 specifics · 1320
- Mate in 2: knight to g5 (e4·3) — Chess960 specifics · 1630
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to f5 (e6) — Chess960 specifics · 1760
- Winning blow: pawn to c6 (c5·14) — Chess960 specifics · 2060
- Mate in 3: bishop to g6 (f5·2) — Chess960 specifics · 2210
This position appears in course day 9
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. Two pawns begin with no defender at all: b2 and h2. The bishops are on b1 and e1, the queen on d1. White's edge here is a wide one, +49 centipawns, and the line runs c4 c5 Ng3 O-O d4 cxd4.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.