Starting position #462
Back-rank setup: RNNKQBBR
SP-462 · ThroneGuard — King on a central file (d/e) with both knights on inner files — the classic-type setup.
Move the pieces right on the board — full Chess960 rules, castle by dropping the king on the rook.
Position features
The king starts on d1, the rooks on a1 and h1, the queen on e1.
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 f1 and g1; their long diagonals reach a6 and a7 once the e- and f-pawns step aside.
One second-rank pawn starts with no defender at all: b2.
The setup belongs to the ThroneGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 692.
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 91 Morozov Balance Index: 91 of 100 — class A — most balanced.
- Engine evaluation of the starting position: +13 centipawns for White (depth 48, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 92 of 960 by balance — 1 is the most balanced start.
- Balance band S — slight edge · dynamics along the play-out: equalizing
- Evaluation along the engine's main line (44 half-moves): +19 → 0 → 0
- Deeper check (1 200 000 000 nodes, depth 53): +16 cp, +3 cp against the base run — verified
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #692
- The king starts on d, the rooks on a and h
- It becomes the daily position in 828 days
Puzzles from this position
- Winning blow: pawn to g5 — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Winning blow: knight to d4 (b5) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Winning blow: rook to d1 (h1) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to e4 (f3·34) — Chess960 specifics · 1060
- Winning blow: queen to b7 (a8·4) — Chess960 specifics · 1200
- Mate in 2: queen to f7 (f1·2) — Chess960 specifics · 1320
- Winning blow: rook to h3 (h6) — Chess960 specifics · 1470
- Mate in 2: bishop to d5 (f3) — Chess960 specifics · 1630
- Mate in 3: queen to a7 (f2·3) — Chess960 specifics · 1760
- Winning blow: king to b1 (c1·41) — Chess960 specifics · 2060
This position appears in course day 30
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Commentary
The king begins on d1 with the queen beside him on e1, and castling is ordinary in both directions. The knights stand side by side on b1 and c1, the bishops together on f1 and g1. The pawn on b2 has no defender, and c2 leans on the king alone. The rooks sit in the corners, a1 and h1. The engine keeps the edge small, +13 centipawns: f4 f6 Nc3 e5 e4 Nc6.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.