Starting position #534
Back-rank setup: RNBKQBNR
SP-534 · 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 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.
The bishops stand on c1 and f1; their long diagonals reach h6 and a6 once the d- and e-pawns step aside.
The pawn on c2 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 518.
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 5 Morozov Balance Index: 5 of 100 — class D — largest edge.
- Engine evaluation of the starting position: +49 centipawns for White (depth 48, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 915 of 960 by balance — 1 is the most balanced start.
- Balance band L — large edge · dynamics along the play-out: equalizing
- Evaluation along the engine's main line (60 half-moves): +49 → +30 → +11 → 0
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #518
- The king starts on d, the rooks on a and h
- It becomes the daily position in 632 days
Puzzles from this position
- Attack on the uncastled king: bishop to f6 (g5) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to g4 (h3·10) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: bishop to f4 (c1·20) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to a5 (a4) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Winning blow: rook to d4 (d1·5) — Chess960 specifics · 1060
- Winning blow: bishop to b4 (d2·3) — Chess960 specifics · 1200
- Winning blow: rook to e5 (e1·7) — Chess960 specifics · 1280
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to d3 (g3) — Chess960 specifics · 1630
- Mate in 3: knight to b6 (a4) — Chess960 specifics · 1760
- Winning blow: rook to d7 (d8·6) — Chess960 specifics · 2060
This position appears in course day 29
In your browser or in the Android app. Nothing to install · Free, no ads
Commentary
Reflect this setup left to right and you get the classical starting position — the king stands on d1 here and the queen on e1, the other way round from the version everybody learns. The engine gives White a wide edge here: +49 centipawns at depth 48. Castling is ordinary in both directions, with the rooks in the corners on a1 and h1. The pawn on c2 leans on the king alone; no other second-rank pawn starts short of a defender. The bishops are on c1 and f1, the knights on b1 and g1, and the line runs d4 f5 Nc3 e6 e4 fxe4.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.