Starting position #575
Back-rank setup: RNKNRQBB
SP-575 · BastionGuard — Off-centre king (c/f), no knight on the a- or h-file.
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 f1.
The king already stands on c1, so castling long moves only the rook, from a1 to d1.
A bishop starts in the corner on h1: it has a single diagonal, which the g-pawn unlocks, running out to a8.
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 480.
The engine's main line opens with e4, 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 59 Morozov Balance Index: 59 of 100 — class B — balanced.
- Engine evaluation of the starting position: +24 centipawns for White (depth 44, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 395 of 960 by balance — 1 is the most balanced start.
- Balance band S — slight edge · dynamics along the play-out: equalizing
- Evaluation along the engine's main line (60 half-moves): +52 → +11 → -9 → 0
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #480
- The king starts on c, the rooks on a and e
- It becomes the daily position in 504 days
Puzzles from this position
- Attack on the uncastled king: knight to e7 (d5·2) — Chess960 specifics · 620
- Attack on the uncastled king: bishop to b7 (h1·9) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Winning blow: rook to b5 (c5) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Winning blow: king to c1 (d1·5) — Chess960 specifics · 970
- Winning blow: bishop to c5 (g1·6) — Chess960 specifics · 1060
- Attack on the uncastled king: bishop to d5 (h1·32) — Chess960 specifics · 1220
- Mate in 2: knight to d7 (c5·3) — Chess960 specifics · 1320
- Winning blow: rook to e6 (d6·6) — Chess960 specifics · 1610
- Winning blow: queen to c6 (a6) — Chess960 specifics · 1650
- Chess960 tactic on f6 (d4) — Chess960 specifics · 2120
This position appears in course day 14
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. A bishop holds the corner on h1 with one diagonal to a8; the second bishop is on g1. Among the pawns, c2 leans on the king alone; no other second-rank pawn starts short of a defender. The queen is on f1, the knights on b1 and d1, the second rook on e1. The engine takes the centre with e4, and Black's queen recaptures on the fourth half-move: e4 f5 exf5 Qxf5 c3 g5.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.