Starting position #570
Back-rank setup: RNKNBBRQ
SP-570 · BastionGuard — King off-centre on c or f with both knights on inner files.
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 g1, the queen on h1.
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 485.
The engine's main line opens with g4.
Every sentence here is computed from the setup itself and can be checked on the board.
Balance
MBI 20 Morozov Balance Index: 20 of 100 — class D — largest edge.
- Engine evaluation of the starting position: +37 centipawns for White (depth 45, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 770 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): +40 → +3 → -7 → 0
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #485
- The king starts on c, the rooks on a and g
- This position does not come up as the daily position in the next four years
Puzzles from this position
- Attack on the uncastled king: bishop to g1 — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Winning blow: rook to h2 (h1·2) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Mate in 2: rook to c8 (a8) — Chess960 specifics · 1090
- Winning blow: bishop to h7 (f5) — Chess960 specifics · 1200
- Winning blow: rook to b8 (b7·4) — Chess960 specifics · 1430
- Mate in 2: knight to d6 (c4·4) — Chess960 specifics · 1450
- Attack on the uncastled king: rook to e8 (e6·3) — Chess960 specifics · 1760
- Winning blow: rook to b7 (b5·2) — Chess960 specifics · 1790
- Winning blow: queen to a7 (g1·4) — Chess960 specifics · 2060
- Winning blow: queen to b7 (b5·7) — Chess960 specifics · 2400
This position appears in course day 173
In your browser or in the Android app. Nothing to install · Free, no ads
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. The pawn on c2 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 second rook on g1. Both knight moves in the line need a letter to say which one went: g4 Nbc6 Nbc3 e6 f4 d5.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.