Starting position #579
Back-rank setup: BQRNKRNB
SP-579 · ThroneGuard — Both knights start on inner files (b–g) while the king sits centrally on d or e — one of 204 positions filed here.
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 c1 and f1, the queen on b1.
The kingside rook already stands on f1, so castling short moves only the king, from e1 to g1.
A bishop starts in the corner on a1: it has a single diagonal, which the b-pawn unlocks, running out to h8.
One second-rank pawn starts with no defender at all: h2.
The setup belongs to the ThroneGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 275.
The engine's main line opens with b4.
Every sentence here is computed from the setup itself and can be checked on the board.
Balance
MBI 94 Morozov Balance Index: 94 of 100 — class A — most balanced.
- Engine evaluation of the starting position: +10 centipawns for White (depth 51, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 53 of 960 by balance — 1 is the most balanced start.
- Balance band E — even · dynamics along the play-out: equalizing
- Evaluation along the engine's main line (70 half-moves): +18 → +5 → 0 → 0
- Deeper check (1 200 000 000 nodes, depth 54): +12 cp, +2 cp against the base run — verified · S — slight edge
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #275
- The king starts on e, the rooks on c and f
- King and rook are neighbours — castling from adjacent squares feels unusual
- It becomes the daily position in 481 days
Puzzles from this position
- Attack on the uncastled king: knight to f4 — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to b4 (b1·3) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to b8 (b2) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Attack on the uncastled king: bishop to a8 (g2·4) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Winning blow: rook to a7 (a2) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Winning blow: bishop to d5 (g2) — Chess960 specifics · 970
- Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to g5 (f4·37) — Chess960 specifics · 1060
- Mate in 2: queen to d6 (a3·3) — Chess960 specifics · 1320
- Winning blow: rook to h7 (h1·11) — Chess960 specifics · 1700
- Mate in 3: queen to f6 (h6·3) — Chess960 specifics · 1990
This position appears in course day 35
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Commentary
The rook already occupies f1, so short castling moves the king alone from e1. Both corners hold a bishop, a1 towards h8 and h1 towards a8, each with a single diagonal. On the second rank, h2 has no defender, and d2 leans on the king alone. The queen is on b1, the knights on d1 and g1, the second rook on c1. The search ran to depth 51 here and calls it +10 centipawns: b4 b5 Nf3 Nf6 Ne3 g6.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.