Starting position #331
Back-rank setup: NRQKBRNB
SP-331 · ThroneScout — A central king (d or e), but with a knight posted out on the a- or h-file.
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 c1.
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.
The second rank carries 2 pawns with no defender at all: a2, h2.
The setup belongs to the ThroneScout family; read right to left it becomes position 337.
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 40 Morozov Balance Index: 40 of 100 — class C — noticeable edge.
- Engine evaluation of the starting position: +29 centipawns for White (depth 48, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 577 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): +27 → +14 → -6 → 0
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #337
- The king starts on d, the rooks on b and f
- It becomes the daily position in 1161 days
Puzzles from this position
- Attack on the uncastled king: rook to b2 — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Winning blow: knight to c6 (a7·2) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Winning blow: pawn to c3 (b2·10) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Attack on the uncastled king: knight to d2 (f3·3) — Chess960 specifics · 970
- Winning blow: knight to f3 (d2) — Chess960 specifics · 1200
- Winning blow: rook to b7 (c7·5) — Chess960 specifics · 1430
- Mate in 3: bishop to c6 (h1) — Chess960 specifics · 1630
- Mate in 3: rook to e6 (e5) — Chess960 specifics · 1760
- Mate in 3: queen to e6 (d6) — Chess960 specifics · 1980
- Chess960 tactic on g5 (f5) — Chess960 specifics · 2120
This position appears in course day 21
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Commentary
The rook already occupies f1, so short castling moves the king alone from d1. The queen begins on c1, right beside her king. A bishop holds the corner on h1 with one diagonal to a8; the second bishop is on e1. A knight is in the corner on a1 with a single move, b3; the second knight is on g1. The pawns on a2 and h2 both begin with no defender at all, and the line runs c4 c5 d3 d6 Nf3 Nf6.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.