Starting position #525
Back-rank setup: RNQBKNBR
SP-525 · 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 e1, 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 d1 and g1; their long diagonals reach h5 and a7 once the e- and f-pawns step aside.
One second-rank pawn starts with no defender at all: g2.
The setup belongs to the ThroneGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 536.
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 37 Morozov Balance Index: 37 of 100 — class C — noticeable edge.
- Engine evaluation of the starting position: +30 centipawns for White (depth 48, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 604 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 (46 half-moves): +39 → +2 → 0
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #536
- The king starts on e, the rooks on a and h
- It becomes the daily position in 339 days
Puzzles from this position
- Attack on the uncastled king: rook to c8 (c1·2) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to b6 (c5·4) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: knight to d6 (e4·11) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Winning blow: pawn to f4 (f3·2) — Chess960 specifics · 970
- Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to b5 (c4·32) — Chess960 specifics · 1060
- Winning blow: rook to e7 (e4) — Chess960 specifics · 1290
- Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to g7 (h6·7) — Chess960 specifics · 1560
- Mate in 3: pawn to d6 (c5) — Chess960 specifics · 1630
- Mate in 3: rook to g7 (g2) — Chess960 specifics · 1860
- Winning blow: rook to d8 (b8·4) — Chess960 specifics · 2100
This position appears in course day 20
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Commentary
Castling is ordinary in both directions from e1, with the rooks in the corners on a1 and h1. The bishops are on d1 and g1, the knights on b1 and f1. Among the pawns, g2 is the one that begins without a defender. The queen is on c1. The engine takes the centre with d4, and its queen recaptures on the fifth half-move: d4 d5 c4 dxc4 Qxc4 f6.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.