Starting position #367
Back-rank setup: NRKRQNBB
SP-367 · BastionScout — A c- or f-file king with at least one knight out on the edge.
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 d1, the queen on e1.
The king already stands on c1, so castling long moves only the rook, from b1 to d1.
A bishop starts in the corner on h1: it has a single diagonal, which the g-pawn unlocks, running out to a8.
One second-rank pawn starts with no defender at all: a2.
The setup belongs to the BastionScout family; read right to left it becomes position 304.
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 65 Morozov Balance Index: 65 of 100 — class B — balanced.
- Engine evaluation of the starting position: +22 centipawns for White (depth 44, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 348 of 960 by balance — 1 is the most balanced start.
- Balance band S — slight edge · dynamics along the play-out: stable
- Evaluation along the engine's main line (60 half-moves): +41 → -3 → 0
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #304
- The king starts on c, the rooks on b and d
- 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 b6 (a7) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to c3 (d3·2) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Attack on the uncastled king: bishop to e3 (g1·5) — Chess960 specifics · 970
- Winning blow: knight to c6 (a5·4) — Chess960 specifics · 1060
- Winning blow: knight to c5 (e6·6) — Chess960 specifics · 1150
- Winning blow: bishop to b5 (a6·4) — Chess960 specifics · 1280
- Winning blow: rook to d7 (d2·3) — Chess960 specifics · 1290
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to c7 (a5·5) — Chess960 specifics · 1450
- Mate in 3: queen to c6 (f6) — Chess960 specifics · 1630
- Mate in 3: queen to b8 (h2) — Chess960 specifics · 1760
This position appears in course day 3
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Commentary
The king already stands on c1, so long castling moves the rook alone from b1. A bishop holds the corner on h1 with one diagonal to a8; the second bishop is on g1. A knight is in the corner on a1 with a single move, b3; the second knight is on f1. Among the pawns, a2 begins without a defender. The queen is on e1, and the line runs f4 f5 b3 b6 c3 g6.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.