Starting position #474
Back-rank setup: RNNKBBRQ
SP-474 · 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 g1, the queen on h1.
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 e1 and f1; their long diagonals reach a5 and a6 once the d- and e-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 677.
The engine's main line opens with Nc3, bringing the knight out to c3.
Every sentence here is computed from the setup itself and can be checked on the board.
Balance
MBI 65 Morozov Balance Index: 65 of 100 — class B — balanced.
- Engine evaluation of the starting position: +22 centipawns for White (depth 48, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 342 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 (60 half-moves): +43 → +34 → +8 → 0
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #677
- The king starts on d, the rooks on a and g
- It becomes the daily position in 718 days
Puzzles from this position
- Attack on the uncastled king: knight to e4 (c3) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: rook to h1 (g1·7) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: king to e2 (d1·4) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Winning blow: rook to b2 (a2) — Chess960 specifics · 970
- Winning blow: knight to b6 (a4) — Chess960 specifics · 1200
- Winning blow: pawn to g8 (h7) — Chess960 specifics · 1280
- Mate in 2: queen to c7 (a7) — Chess960 specifics · 1320
- Attack on the uncastled king: bishop to a5 (e1·18) — Chess960 specifics · 1630
- Mate in 3: rook to e6 (e1·3) — Chess960 specifics · 1860
- Chess960 tactic on a8 (b7·2) — Chess960 specifics · 2400
This position appears in course day 55
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Commentary
The engine opens with a knight, Nc3 — the one from b1, with the second on c1 right beside it. The king begins on d1 and castling is ordinary in both directions. The pawn on b2 has no defender, and c2 leans on the king alone. The bishops sit together on e1 and f1, the queen in the far corner on h1. The line runs Nc3 Nc6 g4 Nd6 Nb3 g5.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.