Starting position #541
Back-rank setup: RNKBQNBR
SP-541 · BastionGuard — The king starts one file off-centre, on c or f, with neither knight in a corner.
Move the pieces right on the board — full Chess960 rules, castle by dropping the king on the rook.
Position features
The king starts on c1, the rooks on a1 and h1, the queen on e1.
The king already stands on c1, so castling long moves only the rook, from a1 to d1.
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 BastionGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 520.
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 47 Morozov Balance Index: 47 of 100 — class C — noticeable edge.
- Engine evaluation of the starting position: +27 centipawns for White (depth 46, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 503 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 (60 half-moves): +46 → +19 → 0
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #520
- The king starts on c, the rooks on a and h
- It becomes the daily position in 310 days
Puzzles from this position
- Attack on the uncastled king: rook to f8 (f1·2) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to e7 (e4) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: knight to d6 (f5·14) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Mate in 2: queen to g8 (g2) — Chess960 specifics · 1090
- Winning blow: rook to d8 (d1·20) — Chess960 specifics · 1200
- Winning blow: pawn to e4 (e2·4) — Chess960 specifics · 1250
- Winning blow: rook to c6 (a6·2) — Chess960 specifics · 1280
- Winning blow: queen to c7 (g3·3) — Chess960 specifics · 1290
- Mate in 3: rook to c4 (e4) — Chess960 specifics · 1630
- Chess960 tactic on e4 (c2) — Chess960 specifics · 2400
This position appears in course day 20
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Commentary
The king already stands on c1, so long castling moves the rook alone from a1. The bishops are on d1 and g1, the knights on b1 and f1. The pawn on g2 has no defender, and b2 leans on the king alone. The queen is on e1, the second rook in the corner on h1. The engine takes the centre with e4 and Black answers in kind: e4 e5 c3 Ne6 Ne3 f6.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.