Starting position #346
Back-rank setup: NRKQBBRN
SP-346 · 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 c1, the rooks on b1 and g1, the queen on d1.
The king already stands on c1, so castling long moves only the rook, from b1 to d1.
The bishops stand on e1 and f1; their long diagonals reach a5 and a6 once the d- and e-pawns step aside.
The second rank carries 2 pawns with no defender at all: a2, h2.
The setup belongs to the BastionScout family; read right to left it becomes position 325.
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 28 Morozov Balance Index: 28 of 100 — class C — noticeable edge.
- Engine evaluation of the starting position: +33 centipawns for White (depth 44, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 692 of 960 by balance — 1 is the most balanced start.
- Balance band M — moderate edge · dynamics along the play-out: sharpening
- Evaluation along the engine's main line (60 half-moves): +45 → +19 → +45 → +37
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #325
- The king starts on c, the rooks on b 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: queen to d5 — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to g8 (h7·9) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to b5 (c4·23) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to b4 (c3·9) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: rook to f6 (b6) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Attack on the uncastled king: rook to h1 (g1·12) — Chess960 specifics · 1110
- Winning blow: queen to d2 (f4) — Chess960 specifics · 1340
- Attack on the uncastled king: bishop to h7 (d3·6) — Chess960 specifics · 1610
- Winning blow: pawn to f4 (g3·20) — Chess960 specifics · 1870
- Chess960 tactic on e1 — Chess960 specifics · 2400
This position appears in course day 14
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Commentary
The king already stands on c1, so long castling moves the rook alone from b1, and the queen begins on d1 beside her king. Both knights start in a corner, a1 and h1, each with a single move: b3 and g3. The bishops sit together on e1 and f1. The pawns on a2 and h2 both begin with no defender at all. In the engine's line Black's queen comes out early: c4 e6 d4 Qh4 Ng3 Bd6.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.