Starting position #542
Back-rank setup: RNKQNBBR
SP-542 · BastionGuard — A c- or f-file king and two knights on inner files (b–g).
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 d1.
The king already stands on c1, so castling long moves only the rook, from a1 to d1.
The bishops stand on f1 and g1; their long diagonals reach a6 and a7 once the e- and f-pawns step aside.
The pawn on b2 is defended by the king alone — the same soft spot f2 is in the classical setup.
The setup belongs to the BastionGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 516.
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 43 Morozov Balance Index: 43 of 100 — class C — noticeable edge.
- Engine evaluation of the starting position: +28 centipawns for White (depth 47, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 545 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 (60 half-moves): +37 → +13 → 0
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #516
- The king starts on c, 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
- Winning blow: rook to h2 — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: bishop to c4 (f1·7) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Winning blow: queen to b1 (c2) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Attack on the uncastled king: bishop to a6 (e2·4) — Chess960 specifics · 1010
- Winning blow: pawn to f4 (g3·17) — Chess960 specifics · 1200
- Winning blow: pawn to c7 (c6·11) — Chess960 specifics · 1280
- Attack on the uncastled king: knight to f4 (d3·14) — Chess960 specifics · 1340
- Attack on the uncastled king: knight to b6 (d5·8) — Chess960 specifics · 1510
- Mate in 3: rook to a8 (a3) — Chess960 specifics · 1980
- Chess960 tactic on c6 (a8) — Chess960 specifics · 2350
This position appears in course day 61
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Commentary
The king already stands on c1, so long castling moves the rook alone from a1. The bishops sit together on f1 and g1, the knights on b1 and e1. On the second rank, b2 leans on the king alone; no other second-rank pawn starts short of a defender. The queen is on d1 beside her king, the second rook in the corner on h1. Both sides mirror each other for six half-moves: e4 e5 Nc3 Nc6 f4 f5.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.