Starting position #540
Back-rank setup: RBNKQNBR
SP-540 · 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 b1 and g1; their long diagonals reach h7 and a7 once the c- and f-pawns step aside.
The second rank carries 2 pawns with no defender at all: b2, g2.
The setup belongs to the ThroneGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 524.
The engine's main line opens with e4, 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 65 Morozov Balance Index: 65 of 100 — class B — balanced.
- Engine evaluation of the starting position: +22 centipawns for White (depth 47, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 340 of 960 by balance — 1 is the most balanced start.
- Balance band S — slight edge · dynamics along the play-out: equalizing
- Evaluation along the engine's main line (60 half-moves): +20 → +28 → +17 → 0
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #524
- The king starts on d, the rooks on a and h
- This position does not come up as the daily position in the next four years
Puzzles from this position
- Attack on the uncastled king: knight to e8 (f6) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to b5 (e2·3) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Winning blow: queen to a1 (e1) — Chess960 specifics · 970
- Winning blow: pawn to d5 (d4·5) — Chess960 specifics · 1110
- Attack on the uncastled king: knight to d6 (c4·6) — Chess960 specifics · 1200
- Mate in 2: queen to f7 (f3·6) — Chess960 specifics · 1320
- Winning blow: rook to c4 (d4) — Chess960 specifics · 1340
- Mate in 3: rook to c7 (e7) — Chess960 specifics · 1630
- Mate in 3: bishop to d7 (a4) — Chess960 specifics · 1860
- Winning blow: queen to f6 (e6·7) — Chess960 specifics · 2400
This position appears in course day 24
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Commentary
The king begins on d1 with the queen beside him on e1, and castling is ordinary in both directions. Two pawns begin with no defender at all: b2 and g2, one on each wing. The bishops are on b1 and g1, the knights on c1 and f1. The rooks sit in the corners, a1 and h1. The engine takes the centre with e4 and the line runs e4 f6 f3 e5 c3 c6.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.