Starting position #494
Back-rank setup: QRNKNBBR
SP-494 · ThroneGuard — The king starts in the middle of the back rank, on d or e, and neither knight begins 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 d1, 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 f1 and g1; their long diagonals reach a6 and a7 once the e- and f-pawns step aside.
The pawn on d2 is defended by the king alone — the same soft spot f2 is in the classical setup.
The setup belongs to the ThroneGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 564.
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 28 Morozov Balance Index: 28 of 100 — class C — noticeable edge.
- Engine evaluation of the starting position: +33 centipawns for White (depth 43, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 689 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 (43 half-moves): +26 → +7 → 0
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #564
- The king starts on d, the rooks on b and h
- This position does not come up as the daily position in the next four years
Puzzles from this position
- Attack on the uncastled king: bishop to c4 (f1·2) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to e4 (f3·19) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to e5 (a1·8) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to g8 (g7) — Chess960 specifics · 970
- Winning blow: rook to c5 (c1·8) — Chess960 specifics · 1060
- Winning blow: queen to b6 (b5·4) — Chess960 specifics · 1290
- Attack on the uncastled king: knight to b3 (c1) — Chess960 specifics · 1340
- Winning blow: rook to e2 (f2·2) — Chess960 specifics · 1470
- Mate in 3: rook to e6 (e4·2) — Chess960 specifics · 1760
- Winning blow: rook to d7 (d1·28) — Chess960 specifics · 2400
This position appears in course day 33
In your browser or in the Android app. Nothing to install · Free, no ads
Commentary
The king begins on d1 and castling is ordinary in both directions, with the rooks on b1 and h1. The bishops sit together on f1 and g1, the knights on c1 and e1. On the second rank, d2 leans on the king alone; no other second-rank pawn starts short of a defender. The queen begins in the far corner on a1. Both sides put a bishop on the long diagonal in the engine's line: g3 g6 f4 Bg7 Bg2 f5.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.