Starting position #527
Back-rank setup: RNQKNRBB
SP-527 · ThroneGuard — King home on d or e, knights kept off the a- and h-files — the family of the standard starting array.
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 c1.
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 e2 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 528.
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 47 Morozov Balance Index: 47 of 100 — class C — noticeable edge.
- Engine evaluation of the starting position: +27 centipawns for White (depth 51, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 504 of 960 by balance — 1 is the most balanced start.
- Balance band M — moderate edge · dynamics along the play-out: equalizing
- Evaluation along the engine's main line (59 half-moves): +23 → +12 → 0
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #528
- The king starts on d, the rooks on a and f
- It becomes the daily position in 1075 days
Puzzles from this position
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to e3 (d2) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to g4 (f3·7) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: bishop to f5 (e4) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Winning blow: knight to c5 (a6) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Winning blow: knight to e1 (c2·3) — Chess960 specifics · 970
- Winning blow: bishop to d5 (h1·10) — Chess960 specifics · 1200
- Mate in 2: queen to c8 (c3·6) — Chess960 specifics · 1320
- Mate in 2: pawn to d6 (e5·2) — Chess960 specifics · 1440
- Mate in 3: queen to e4 (d5) — Chess960 specifics · 1630
- Chess960 tactic on h4 — Chess960 specifics · 2120
This position appears in course day 23
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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. Among the pawns, e2 leans on the king alone; no other second-rank pawn starts short of a defender. The queen is on c1 beside her king, the knights on b1 and e1, the second rook in the corner on a1. The search ran to depth 51 here and calls it +27 centipawns: c4 f5 f4 c5 d3 d6.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.