Starting position #554
Back-rank setup: RNKNBBQR
SP-554 · 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 g1.
The king already stands on c1, so castling long moves only the rook, from a1 to d1.
The bishops stand on e1 and f1; their long diagonals reach a5 and a6 once the d- and e-pawns step aside.
The pawn on c2 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 501.
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 40 Morozov Balance Index: 40 of 100 — class C — noticeable edge.
- Engine evaluation of the starting position: +29 centipawns for White (depth 46, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 572 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 (51 half-moves): +35 → +8 → 0
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #501
- The king starts on c, the rooks on a and h
- It becomes the daily position in 4 days
Puzzles from this position
- Attack on the uncastled king: knight to e2 — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Winning blow: knight to f6 (e4) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: knight to f3 (e5) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Winning blow: knight to d5 (e3·5) — Chess960 specifics · 1010
- Winning blow: knight to e5 (d3·14) — Chess960 specifics · 1200
- Attack on the uncastled king: knight to c7 (d5·30) — Chess960 specifics · 1430
- Mate in 3: knight to d4 (f5) — Chess960 specifics · 1630
- Mate in 3: bishop to c5 (d6) — Chess960 specifics · 1760
- Winning blow: rook to g4 (g1·7) — Chess960 specifics · 1870
- Winning blow: queen to a5 (d2·3) — Chess960 specifics · 2060
This position appears in course day 57
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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 e1 and f1, the knights on b1 and d1. On the second rank, c2 leans on the king alone; no other second-rank pawn starts short of a defender. The queen is on g1, the second rook in the corner on h1. Both knights can reach c3, so the engine's third half-move carries a letter: d4 d5 Nbc3 f5 f3 e5.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.