Starting position #379
Back-rank setup: NRKRBNQB
SP-379 · 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 g1.
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.
The second rank carries 2 pawns with no defender at all: a2, e2.
The setup belongs to the BastionScout family; read right to left it becomes position 289.
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 6 Morozov Balance Index: 6 of 100 — class D — largest edge.
- Engine evaluation of the starting position: +48 centipawns for White (depth 48, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 909 of 960 by balance — 1 is the most balanced start.
- Balance band L — large edge · dynamics along the play-out: volatile
- Evaluation along the engine's main line (60 half-moves): +58 → +26 → +26 → +6
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #289
- The king starts on c, the rooks on b and d
- King and rook are neighbours — castling from adjacent squares feels unusual
- It becomes the daily position in 1144 days
Puzzles from this position
- Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to f3 (e2·6) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: rook to f8 (f1·8) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Winning blow: knight to d5 (c7) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Winning blow: king to e2 (d1·8) — Chess960 specifics · 970
- Winning blow: king to e1 (d2·4) — Chess960 specifics · 970
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to g5 (g3·2) — Chess960 specifics · 1060
- Winning blow: queen to h1 (g1) — Chess960 specifics · 1250
- Castling-960 to the rescue on d1 (c1·3) — Castling-960 · 1340
- Attack on the uncastled king: knight to d6 (c4·8) — Chess960 specifics · 1630
- Winning blow: bishop to b7 (f3·7) — Chess960 specifics · 2100
This position appears in course day 24
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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 e1. A knight is in the corner on a1 with a single move, b3; the second knight is on f1. The pawns on a2 and e2 both begin with no defender at all. White's edge here is a wide one, +48 centipawns, and the line runs f4 g6 g4 Ne6 e3 d6.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.