Starting position #463
Back-rank setup: RNNKQRBB
SP-463 · ThroneGuard — A central king (d or e) and two knights tucked onto inner files: the family that holds the standard array, SP-518.
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 f1, the queen on e1.
The kingside rook already stands on f1, so castling short moves only the king, from d1 to g1.
A bishop starts in the corner on h1: it has a single diagonal, which the g-pawn unlocks, running out to a8.
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 688.
The engine's main line opens with g3.
Every sentence here is computed from the setup itself and can be checked on the board.
Balance
MBI 13 Morozov Balance Index: 13 of 100 — class D — largest edge.
- Engine evaluation of the starting position: +41 centipawns for White (depth 47, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 839 of 960 by balance — 1 is the most balanced start.
- Balance band L — large edge · dynamics along the play-out: sharpening
- Evaluation along the engine's main line (60 half-moves): +58 → +82 → +65 → +46
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #688
- The king starts on d, the rooks on a and f
- This position does not come up as the daily position in the next four years
Puzzles from this position
- Attack on the uncastled king: knight to b7 (a5·10) — Chess960 specifics · 620
- Attack on the uncastled king: bishop to d5 (h1·13) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Winning blow: pawn to c6 (b5·4) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Winning blow: bishop to d4 (g1·6) — Chess960 specifics · 970
- Winning blow: pawn to c3 (c2·7) — Chess960 specifics · 1110
- Winning blow: queen to c6 (b6·2) — Chess960 specifics · 1200
- Mate in 3: queen to d5 (d3) — Chess960 specifics · 1630
- Winning blow: knight to b7 (a5·4) — Chess960 specifics · 1700
- Mate in 3: rook to b8 (a8·2) — Chess960 specifics · 1760
- Chess960 tactic on c5 (c3) — Chess960 specifics · 2350
This position appears in course day 11
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Commentary
The rook already occupies f1, so short castling moves the king alone from d1. A bishop holds the corner on h1 with one diagonal to a8; the second bishop is on g1. The pawn on b2 has no defender, and c2 leans on the king alone. The queen is on e1 beside her king, the knights on b1 and c1, the second rook in the corner on a1. White's edge here is a wide one, +41 centipawns: g3 g6 d4 c6 f4 f5.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.