Starting position #397
Back-rank setup: QRNBNKBR
SP-397 · BastionGuard — The king starts one file off-centre, on c or f, with neither knight 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 f1, the rooks on b1 and h1, the queen on a1.
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.
The bishops stand on d1 and g1; their long diagonals reach h5 and a7 once the e- and f-pawns step aside.
One second-rank pawn starts with no defender at all: d2.
The setup belongs to the BastionGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 760.
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 31 Morozov Balance Index: 31 of 100 — class C — noticeable edge.
- Engine evaluation of the starting position: +32 centipawns for White (depth 44, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 670 of 960 by balance — 1 is the most balanced start.
- Balance band M — moderate edge · dynamics along the play-out: stable
- Evaluation along the engine's main line (60 half-moves): +27 → +28 → 0
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #760
- The king starts on f, the rooks on b and h
- It becomes the daily position in 16 days
Puzzles from this position
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to b2 — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to h8 (e5·2) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to c4 (b3·18) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: bishop to e4 (f3·7) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to e4 (d3·44) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Winning blow: king to f1 (g1·16) — Chess960 specifics · 970
- Winning blow: king to h2 (g1·25) — Chess960 specifics · 1110
- Winning blow: rook to f6 (f3·3) — Chess960 specifics · 1510
- Mate in 3: queen to g2 — Chess960 specifics · 1760
- Winning blow: pawn to e8 (e7·4) — Chess960 specifics · 2060
This position appears in course day 57
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Commentary
Castling is ordinary in both directions from f1, with the rooks on b1 and h1. The queen starts in the far corner on a1, the bishops on d1 and g1. Among the pawns, d2 is the one that begins without a defender. The knights are on c1 and e1. The published line opens f4 f5, then b4 Nf6 Nf3 Bd5.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.