Starting position #55
Back-rank setup: NNBRQKRB
SP-55 · BastionScout — A c- or f-file king with at least one knight out on the edge.
Move the pieces right on the board — full Chess960 rules, castle by dropping the king on the rook.
Position features
The king starts on f1, the rooks on d1 and g1, the queen on e1.
Castling short simply swaps the two pieces: the king on f1 and the rook on g1 trade places.
A bishop starts in the corner on h1: it has a single diagonal, which the g-pawn unlocks, running out to a8.
The second rank carries 2 pawns with no defender at all: a2, h2.
The setup belongs to the BastionScout family; read right to left it becomes position 898.
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 34 Morozov Balance Index: 34 of 100 — class C — noticeable edge.
- Engine evaluation of the starting position: +31 centipawns for White (depth 43, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 651 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): +43 → +1 → -3 → 0
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #898
- The king starts on f, the rooks on d and g
- King and rook are neighbours — castling from adjacent squares feels unusual
- It becomes the daily position in 937 days
Puzzles from this position
- Attack on the uncastled king: bishop to h3 (g2) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: knight to c2 (a1) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: knight to f5 (e3·8) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: knight to e6 (c5·14) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Winning blow: queen to g8 (e6) — Chess960 specifics · 1010
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to f6 (f2·2) — Chess960 specifics · 1150
- Attack on the uncastled king: bishop to b2 (c1·9) — Chess960 specifics · 1280
- Attack on the uncastled king: rook to d4 (d1·14) — Chess960 specifics · 1390
- Attack on the uncastled king: rook to f6 (f1·7) — Chess960 specifics · 1870
- Winning blow: rook to e8 (e7·11) — Chess960 specifics · 2290
This position appears in course day 43
In your browser or in the Android app. Nothing to install · Free, no ads
Commentary
Short castling swaps the king on f1 with the rook on g1, while long castling moves the king alone to c1. A knight starts in the corner on a1 with a single move, b3; a bishop starts in the corner on h1 with a single diagonal, to a8. The queen stands next to the king on e1, the second bishop on c1. The pawns on a2 and h2 begin with no defender. The published line opens d4 Nb6, then Nb3 d5 Nc3 O-O.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.