Starting position #574
Back-rank setup: RNKNRBBQ
SP-574 · BastionGuard — Both knights begin inside the board while the king stands on c or f; a position and its mirror twin share this family.
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 e1, 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 f1 and g1; their long diagonals reach a6 and a7 once the e- and f-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 484.
The engine's main line opens with f4.
Every sentence here is computed from the setup itself and can be checked on the board.
Balance
MBI 43 Morozov Balance Index: 43 of 100 — class C — noticeable edge.
- Engine evaluation of the starting position: +28 centipawns for White (depth 44, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 544 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): +32 → +37 → +16 → 0
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #484
- The king starts on c, the rooks on a and e
- It becomes the daily position in 252 days
Puzzles from this position
- Attack on the uncastled king: knight to h4 (f3·5) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to e8 (h5) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Winning blow: pawn to f6 (e5·3) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Winning blow: rook to d1 (a1·3) — Chess960 specifics · 970
- Attack on the uncastled king: knight to d5 (c3·20) — Chess960 specifics · 1060
- Winning blow: knight to e8 (f6·3) — Chess960 specifics · 1200
- Mate in 2: bishop to a7 (g1·2) — Chess960 specifics · 1320
- Winning blow: knight to a7 (b5·3) — Chess960 specifics · 1560
- Mate in 3: queen to c6 (c2) — Chess960 specifics · 1630
- Winning blow: rook to b1 (a1·9) — Chess960 specifics · 2340
This position appears in course day 106
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 f1 and g1, the knights on b1 and d1. Among the pawns, 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 e1. The main line of the run opens f4 f5, then g3 e6 e4 fxe4.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.