Starting position #512
Back-rank setup: BBRNQKNR
SP-512 · BastionGuard — A c- or f-file king and two knights on inner files (b–g).
Move the pieces right on the board — full Chess960 rules, castle by dropping the king on the rook.
Position features
The king starts on f1, the rooks on c1 and h1, the queen on e1.
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.
A bishop starts in the corner on a1: it has a single diagonal, which the b-pawn unlocks, running out to h8.
The pawn on g2 is defended by the king alone — the same soft spot f2 is in the classical setup.
The setup belongs to the BastionGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 543.
The engine's main line opens with c4.
Every sentence here is computed from the setup itself and can be checked on the board.
Balance
MBI 83 Morozov Balance Index: 83 of 100 — class A — most balanced.
- Engine evaluation of the starting position: +16 centipawns for White (depth 45, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 158 of 960 by balance — 1 is the most balanced start.
- Balance band S — slight edge · dynamics along the play-out: stable
- Evaluation along the engine's main line (34 half-moves): +25 → 0
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #543
- The king starts on f, the rooks on c and h
- It becomes the daily position in 428 days
Puzzles from this position
- Attack on the uncastled king: bishop to e5 (a1·5) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to f4 (e3·28) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to d5 (e4·92) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Winning blow: king to g2 (f1·12) — Chess960 specifics · 970
- Winning blow: rook to c8 (c1·4) — Chess960 specifics · 1060
- Winning blow: rook to c4 (c1·4) — Chess960 specifics · 1290
- Mate in 2: rook to h5 (h1·3) — Chess960 specifics · 1320
- Mate in 2: knight to e6 (g5·4) — Chess960 specifics · 1450
- Winning blow: queen to g7 (d7·3) — Chess960 specifics · 1790
- Chess960 tactic on h7 (b1) — Chess960 specifics · 2400
This position appears in course day 33
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Commentary
Castling is ordinary in both directions from f1, with the queen on e1 next to her king. A bishop is shut into the corner on a1 with a single diagonal to h8; the second works the light squares from b1. On the second rank, g2 leans on the king alone; no other second-rank pawn starts short of a defender. The knights are on d1 and g1, the rooks on c1 and h1. Both sides mirror each other for six half-moves: c4 c5 b3 b6 e4 e5.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.