Starting position #368
Back-rank setup: BBNRKRNQ
SP-368 · ThroneGuard — The king starts in the middle of the back rank, on d or e, and neither knight begins in a 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 e1, the rooks on d1 and f1, the queen on h1.
The kingside rook already stands on f1, so castling short moves only the king, from e1 to g1.
A bishop starts in the corner on a1: it has a single diagonal, which the b-pawn unlocks, running out to h8.
Every pawn on the second rank is defended from the very first move.
The setup belongs to the ThroneGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 303.
The engine's main line opens with g4.
Every sentence here is computed from the setup itself and can be checked on the board.
Balance
MBI 26 Morozov Balance Index: 26 of 100 — class C — noticeable edge.
- Engine evaluation of the starting position: +34 centipawns for White (depth 42, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 710 of 960 by balance — 1 is the most balanced start.
- Balance band M — moderate edge · dynamics along the play-out: equalizing
- Evaluation along the engine's main line (60 half-moves): +53 → +48 → +13 → 0
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #303
- The king starts on e, the rooks on d and f
- King and rook are neighbours — castling from adjacent squares feels unusual
- It becomes the daily position in 110 days
Puzzles from this position
- Attack on the uncastled king: knight to g6 (e5·2) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Winning blow: king to e2 (e1·2) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to g4 (h3) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Winning blow: king to h1 (g1·17) — Chess960 specifics · 970
- Winning blow: rook to e6 (d6) — Chess960 specifics · 1010
- Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to d4 (d3) — Chess960 specifics · 1110
- Mate in 2: knight to e6 (d4·2) — Chess960 specifics · 1220
- Winning blow: queen to f7 (f1·4) — Chess960 specifics · 1290
- Mate in 3: queen to e7 (h4·3) — Chess960 specifics · 1630
- Mate in 3: rook to f7 (f1·5) — Chess960 specifics · 1990
This position appears in course day 143
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Commentary
Both rooks already stand on their castling squares, d1 and f1, so the king walks alone in either direction from e1. Every pawn on the second rank begins with a defender — this setup concedes nothing on move one. A bishop is shut into the corner on a1 with a single diagonal to h8; the second works the light squares from b1. The queen begins in the corner on h1, the knights on c1 and g1. The recorded line opens g4 g6, then c4 c5 Nd3 Nd6.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.