Starting position #549
Back-rank setup: RNBBKNQR
SP-549 · ThroneGuard — Both knights start on inner files (b–g) while the king sits centrally on d or e — one of 204 positions filed here.
Move the pieces right on the board — full Chess960 rules, castle by dropping the king on the rook.
Position features
The king starts on e1, the rooks on a1 and h1, the queen on g1.
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 d1; their long diagonals reach h6 and h5 once the d- and e-pawns step aside.
Every pawn on the second rank is defended from the very first move.
The setup belongs to the ThroneGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 506.
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 44, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 339 of 960 by balance — 1 is the most balanced start.
- Balance band S — slight edge · dynamics along the play-out: stable
- Evaluation along the engine's main line (60 half-moves): +29 → +19 → +16 → +12
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #506
- The king starts on e, the rooks on a and h
- It becomes the daily position in 1135 days
Puzzles from this position
- Attack on the uncastled king: knight to c4 (d2·2) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: rook to f4 (f1·4) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Winning blow: rook to f5 (f1) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Winning blow: king to b1 (c1·2) — Chess960 specifics · 970
- Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to a5 (a4) — Chess960 specifics · 1110
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to e5 (g7) — Chess960 specifics · 1200
- Attack on the uncastled king: bishop to g5 (c1·17) — Chess960 specifics · 1340
- Mate in 3: rook to a7 (a8) — Chess960 specifics · 1630
- Mate in 3: queen to f7 (d5·3) — Chess960 specifics · 1980
- Winning blow: queen to h6 (f6·3) — Chess960 specifics · 2120
This position appears in course day 96
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Commentary
Castling is ordinary in both directions from e1, with the rooks in the corners on a1 and h1. Every pawn on the second rank begins with a defender — this setup concedes nothing on move one. The bishops stand side by side on c1 and d1, one on each colour. The queen is on g1, the knights on b1 and f1. The engine takes the centre with e4 and the line runs e4 f5 exf5 d5 f4 h5.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.