Starting position #564
Back-rank setup: RBBNKNRQ
SP-564 · ThroneGuard — King on a central file (d/e) with both knights on inner files — the classic-type setup.
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 g1, the queen on h1.
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 b1 and c1; their long diagonals reach h7 and h6 once the c- and d-pawns step aside.
The pawn on e2 is defended by the king alone — the same soft spot f2 is in the classical setup.
The setup belongs to the ThroneGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 494.
The engine's main line opens with g3.
Every sentence here is computed from the setup itself and can be checked on the board.
Balance
MBI 26 Morozov Balance Index: 26 of 100 — class C — noticeable edge.
- Engine evaluation of the starting position: +34 centipawns for White (depth 43, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 704 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): +24 → -4 → 0
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #494
- The king starts on e, the rooks on a and g
- It becomes the daily position in 278 days
Puzzles from this position
- Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to g6 (h5) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to c6 (h1·2) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to d3 (e2·11) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Winning blow: bishop to e1 — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Winning blow: queen to f4 (f1·2) — Chess960 specifics · 1060
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to c6 (h1·8) — Chess960 specifics · 1200
- Winning blow: queen to d6 (e6·2) — Chess960 specifics · 1280
- Mate in 2: queen to a7 (a6·2) — Chess960 specifics · 1320
- Mate in 3: bishop to a2 — Chess960 specifics · 1630
- Winning blow: knight to e6 (c5·23) — Chess960 specifics · 1870
This position appears in course day 29
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Commentary
Castling is ordinary in both directions from e1, with the rooks on a1 and g1. The bishops stand side by side on b1 and c1, one on each colour. The pawn on e2 leans on the king alone; no other second-rank pawn starts short of a defender. The queen begins in the far corner on h1, the knights on d1 and f1. White's edge here is a wide one, +34 centipawns: g3 g6 e3 c5 f4 Nc6.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.