Starting position #495
Back-rank setup: QRNKNRBB
SP-495 · ThroneGuard — Both knights start on inner files (b–g) while the king sits centrally on d or e — one of 204 positions filed here.
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 f1, the queen on a1.
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.
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 560.
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 72 Morozov Balance Index: 72 of 100 — class B — balanced.
- Engine evaluation of the starting position: +20 centipawns for White (depth 49, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 264 of 960 by balance — 1 is the most balanced start.
- Balance band S — slight edge · dynamics along the play-out: volatile
- Evaluation along the engine's main line (60 half-moves): +23 → +35 → +86 → +89
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #560
- The king starts on d, the rooks on b and f
- It becomes the daily position in 417 days
Puzzles from this position
- Attack on the uncastled king: bishop to c6 (h1) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Winning blow: queen to b8 (b4) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: bishop to b2 (d4) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Winning blow: rook to f1 (a1·3) — Chess960 specifics · 1200
- Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to e7 (f6·2) — Chess960 specifics · 1280
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to f6 (d4·3) — Chess960 specifics · 1320
- Winning blow: rook to a7 (a6) — Chess960 specifics · 1340
- Mate in 3: queen to c8 (g8) — Chess960 specifics · 1630
- Winning blow: bishop to b6 (g1·8) — Chess960 specifics · 1870
- Chess960 tactic on c5 (f8) — Chess960 specifics · 2120
This position appears in course day 34
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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. 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, the knights on c1 and e1, the second rook on b1. The search ran to depth 49 and calls it +20 centipawns: f4 g6 g3 f5 a4 a5.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.