Starting position #583
Back-rank setup: QRBNKRNB
SP-583 · ThroneGuard — A central king (d or e) and two knights tucked onto inner files: the family that holds the standard array, SP-518.
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 b1 and f1, the queen on a1.
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 h1: it has a single diagonal, which the g-pawn unlocks, running out to a8.
The second rank carries 2 pawns with no defender at all: c2, h2.
The setup belongs to the ThroneGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 274.
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 37 Morozov Balance Index: 37 of 100 — class C — noticeable edge.
- Engine evaluation of the starting position: +30 centipawns for White (depth 43, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 601 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): +30 → +1 → 0
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #274
- The king starts on e, the rooks on b and f
- King and rook are neighbours — castling from adjacent squares feels unusual
- It becomes the daily position in 792 days
Puzzles from this position
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to g7 (a1·2) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to e3 (d2) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: knight to c7 (b5·10) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to c6 (b5) — Chess960 specifics · 1060
- Winning blow: knight to e5 (f3·12) — Chess960 specifics · 1150
- Mate in 2: queen to h6 (f8·2) — Chess960 specifics · 1320
- Winning blow: queen to e6 (d6·2) — Chess960 specifics · 1510
- Mate in 3: king to d2 (e1) — Chess960 specifics · 1630
- Winning blow: knight to c6 (d4·19) — Chess960 specifics · 1700
- Chess960 tactic on c8 (d7·2) — Chess960 specifics · 2400
This position appears in course day 81
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Commentary
The rook already occupies f1, so short castling moves the king alone from e1. A bishop holds the corner on h1 with one diagonal to a8; the second bishop is on c1. Two pawns begin with no defender at all: c2 and h2. The queen begins in the far corner on a1, the knights on d1 and g1, the second rook on b1. The published line opens b4 b5, then a4 a6 Bb2 Nf6.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.