Starting position #359
Back-rank setup: NRBKRQNB
SP-359 · 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 d1, the rooks on b1 and e1, the queen on f1.
Castling ends where it always does: king to g1 and rook to f1 on the short side, king to c1 and rook to d1 on the long one.
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 306.
The engine's main line opens with e4, putting a pawn straight into the centre.
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 575 of 960 by balance — 1 is the most balanced start.
- Balance band M — moderate edge · dynamics along the play-out: volatile
- Evaluation along the engine's main line (60 half-moves): +36 → +68 → +49 → +21
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #306
- The king starts on d, the rooks on b and e
- 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 f7 (f2) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to d6 (e5·15) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Winning blow: bishop to a5 (d8·2) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Winning blow: pawn to f6 (g5·8) — Chess960 specifics · 1060
- Winning blow: king to c2 (b2·4) — Chess960 specifics · 1250
- Mate in 2: queen to b7 (b8) — Chess960 specifics · 1320
- Mate in 3: queen to a7 (d4·2) — Chess960 specifics · 1630
- Mate in 3: bishop to c6 (d5·4) — Chess960 specifics · 1760
- Winning blow: queen to e5 (b5) — Chess960 specifics · 1870
- Mate in 3: queen to c4 (f1·3) — Chess960 specifics · 1990
This position appears in course day 129
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Commentary
The king begins on d1 and castling is ordinary in both directions, with the rooks on b1 and e1. A bishop holds the corner on h1 with one diagonal to a8; the second bishop is on c1. 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. The engine takes the centre with e4 and Black answers in kind: e4 e5 g3 Nb6 d3 d6.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.