Starting position #522
Back-rank setup: RNQKBBNR
SP-522 · 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 c1.
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 e1 and f1; their long diagonals reach a5 and a6 once the d- and e-pawns step aside.
Every pawn on the second rank is defended from the very first move.
The setup belongs to the ThroneGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 533.
The engine's main line opens with d4, 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 11 Morozov Balance Index: 11 of 100 — class D — largest edge.
- Engine evaluation of the starting position: +42 centipawns for White (depth 47, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 857 of 960 by balance — 1 is the most balanced start.
- Balance band L — large edge · dynamics along the play-out: stable
- Evaluation along the engine's main line (60 half-moves): +35 → +35 → +8 → 0
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #533
- The king starts on d, the rooks on a and h
- It becomes the daily position in 742 days
Puzzles from this position
- Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to g4 (h3) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: bishop to h4 (e1·2) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to a3 (b2·28) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to b3 (b2·3) — Chess960 specifics · 970
- Winning blow: pawn to a7 (a6·2) — Chess960 specifics · 1110
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to e6 (f5) — Chess960 specifics · 1250
- Mate in 2: queen to d8 (d2·2) — Chess960 specifics · 1320
- Winning blow: queen to a6 (e2·6) — Chess960 specifics · 1700
- Winning blow: rook to d7 (d2·6) — Chess960 specifics · 1870
- Chess960 tactic on f8 (b4) — Chess960 specifics · 2400
This position appears in course day 52
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Commentary
The king begins on d1 with the queen beside him on c1, and castling is ordinary in both directions. Every pawn on the second rank begins with a defender — this setup concedes nothing on move one. The bishops sit together on e1 and f1, the knights on b1 and g1. The rooks sit in the corners, a1 and h1. White's edge here is a wide one, +42 centipawns, and the queen steps out on the fifth half-move: d4 e6 e4 d5 Qe3 Nc6.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.