Starting position #510
Back-rank setup: RQNKNBBR
SP-510 · 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 b1.
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 548.
The engine's main line opens with e4, putting a pawn straight into the centre.
Every sentence here is computed from the setup itself and can be checked on the board.
Balance
MBI 24 Morozov Balance Index: 24 of 100 — class D — largest edge.
- Engine evaluation of the starting position: +35 centipawns for White (depth 45, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 729 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 (60 half-moves): +36 → +14 → 0 → +2
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #548
- The king starts on d, the rooks on a 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 g4 (e2·2) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Winning blow: rook to c3 (c1·2) — Chess960 specifics · 1010
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to e7 (d6) — Chess960 specifics · 1060
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to c6 (c2·3) — Chess960 specifics · 1150
- Winning blow: rook to d7 (c7·4) — Chess960 specifics · 1200
- Winning blow: king to h2 (g1·27) — Chess960 specifics · 1250
- Winning blow: knight to c6 (d4·16) — Chess960 specifics · 1510
- Mate in 3: queen to a4 (b3) — Chess960 specifics · 1630
- Winning blow: bishop to g5 (e3·10) — Chess960 specifics · 1870
- Chess960 tactic on a7 (a5) — Chess960 specifics · 2250
This position appears in course day 249
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Commentary
The king begins on d1 and castling is ordinary in both directions, with the rooks in the corners on a1 and h1. The bishops sit together on f1 and g1, the knights on c1 and e1. The pawn on d2 leans on the king alone; no other second-rank pawn starts short of a defender. The queen is on b1. White's edge here is a wide one, +35 centipawns: e4 f6 f3 e5 c3 c6.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.