Starting position #511
Back-rank setup: RQNKNRBB
SP-511 · 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 b1.
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 544.
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 59 Morozov Balance Index: 59 of 100 — class B — balanced.
- Engine evaluation of the starting position: +24 centipawns for White (depth 51, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 399 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): +24 → +26 → +43 → +19
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #544
- The king starts on d, the rooks on a and f
- It becomes the daily position in 141 days
Puzzles from this position
- Attack on the uncastled king: rook to f8 (f1·3) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Winning blow: rook to f8 (f4·2) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Attack on the uncastled king: knight to c6 (b4·4) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Winning blow: queen to a5 (a6·4) — Chess960 specifics · 1060
- Winning blow: rook to d6 (d5·4) — Chess960 specifics · 1280
- Mate in 2: rook to b7 (b1) — Chess960 specifics · 1320
- Winning blow: rook to d1 (f1·5) — Chess960 specifics · 1610
- Mate in 3: rook to f8 (f2) — Chess960 specifics · 1630
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to d6 (a3·5) — Chess960 specifics · 1760
- Winning blow: queen to d3 (a6·2) — Chess960 specifics · 2010
This position appears in course day 75
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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 d2 leans on the king alone; no other second-rank pawn starts short of a defender. The queen is on b1, the knights on c1 and e1, the second rook in the corner on a1. The search ran to depth 51 here and calls it +24 centipawns, with both sides mirroring: f4 f5 g3 g6 a4 a5.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.