Starting position #572
Back-rank setup: RBNKNRBQ
SP-572 · ThroneGuard — The king starts in the middle of the back rank, on d or e, and neither knight begins in a corner.
Move the pieces right on the board — full Chess960 rules, castle by dropping the king on the rook.
Position features
The king starts on d1, the rooks on a1 and f1, the queen on h1.
The kingside rook already stands on f1, so castling short moves only the king, from d1 to g1.
The bishops stand on b1 and g1; their long diagonals reach h7 and a7 once the c- and f-pawns step aside.
One second-rank pawn starts with no defender at all: b2.
The setup belongs to the ThroneGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 492.
The engine's main line opens with c3.
Every sentence here is computed from the setup itself and can be checked on the board.
Balance
MBI 55 Morozov Balance Index: 55 of 100 — class B — balanced.
- Engine evaluation of the starting position: +25 centipawns for White (depth 48, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 422 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): +28 → +8 → 0
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #492
- The king starts on d, the rooks on a and f
- This position does not come up as the daily position in the next four years
Puzzles from this position
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to d5 (a5) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to f6 (g5·6) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to c3 (d2·16) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Winning blow: queen to e8 (b8) — Chess960 specifics · 1010
- Winning blow: queen to d6 (c7·2) — Chess960 specifics · 1200
- Attack on the uncastled king: king to c2 (d1·18) — Chess960 specifics · 1200
- Winning blow: queen to a5 (a6·5) — Chess960 specifics · 1250
- Winning blow: queen to g6 (f6·5) — Chess960 specifics · 1560
- Attack on the uncastled king: knight to c5 (d3·13) — Chess960 specifics · 1630
- Winning blow: queen to c5 (e3·4) — Chess960 specifics · 2010
This position appears in course day 71
In your browser or in the Android app. Nothing to install · Free, no ads
Commentary
The rook already occupies f1, so short castling moves the king alone from d1. The bishops are on b1 and g1, the knights on c1 and e1. On the second rank, b2 has no defender, and d2 leans on the king alone. The queen begins in the far corner on h1, the second rook in the corner on a1. Both sides mirror each other for six half-moves: c3 c6 g4 g6 f4 f5.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.