Starting position #369
Back-rank setup: BNRBKRNQ
SP-369 · ThroneGuard — Both knights start on inner files (b–g) while the king sits centrally on d or e — one of 204 positions filed here.
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 c1 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.
One second-rank pawn starts with no defender at all: a2.
The setup belongs to the ThroneGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 299.
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 61 Morozov Balance Index: 61 of 100 — class B — balanced.
- Engine evaluation of the starting position: +23 centipawns for White (depth 49, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 371 of 960 by balance — 1 is the most balanced start.
- Balance band S — slight edge · dynamics along the play-out: volatile
- Evaluation along the engine's main line (57 half-moves): +33 → -10 → -2 → 0
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #299
- The king starts on e, the rooks on c and f
- King and rook are neighbours — castling from adjacent squares feels unusual
- It becomes the daily position in 287 days
Puzzles from this position
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to c6 (h1) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: king to d2 (e1·3) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to a8 (h1·9) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: bishop to b4 (c3·3) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to a4 (b3·2) — Chess960 specifics · 1090
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to b8 (d6) — Chess960 specifics · 1200
- Winning blow: rook to a1 (c1·2) — Chess960 specifics · 1280
- Winning blow: rook to d7 (d2·4) — Chess960 specifics · 1430
- Mate in 3: bishop to h3 — Chess960 specifics · 1760
- Winning blow: pawn to b6 (b5·10) — Chess960 specifics · 2060
This position appears in course day 72
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Commentary
The rook already occupies f1, so short castling moves the king alone from e1. A bishop is closed into the corner on a1 with a single diagonal to h8; the second bishop is on d1. The queen begins in the corner on h1, the knights on b1 and g1. Among the pawns, a2 is the one that begins without a defender. The engine advances on the kingside early: g4 e6 h4 g6 e3 Bf6.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.