Starting position #607
Back-rank setup: RQNKRNBB
SP-607 · 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 d1, the rooks on a1 and e1, the queen on b1.
Castling ends where it always does: king to g1 and rook to f1 on the short side, king to c1 and rook to d1 on the long one.
A bishop starts in the corner on h1: it has a single diagonal, which the g-pawn unlocks, running out to a8.
Every pawn on the second rank is defended from the very first move.
The setup belongs to the ThroneGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 256.
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 34 Morozov Balance Index: 34 of 100 — class C — noticeable edge.
- Engine evaluation of the starting position: +31 centipawns for White (depth 46, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 635 of 960 by balance — 1 is the most balanced start.
- Balance band M — moderate edge · dynamics along the play-out: volatile
- Evaluation along the engine's main line (60 half-moves): +29 → -14 → +14 → +2
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #256
- The king starts on d, the rooks on a and e
- King and rook are neighbours — castling from adjacent squares feels unusual
- It becomes the daily position in 88 days
Puzzles from this position
- Attack on the uncastled king: bishop to e5 (g3) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to b6 (a5·7) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Winning blow: rook to c6 — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Winning blow: king to f1 (e1·4) — Chess960 specifics · 970
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to b1 (c2) — Chess960 specifics · 1110
- Winning blow: pawn to d5 (d4·8) — Chess960 specifics · 1250
- Winning blow: queen to g7 (d7·2) — Chess960 specifics · 1290
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to d7 (d3·9) — Chess960 specifics · 1450
- Mate in 3: queen to h8 (f6·3) — Chess960 specifics · 1630
- Chess960 tactic on b5 (b4) — Chess960 specifics · 2350
This position appears in course day 36
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Commentary
The king begins on d1 and castling is ordinary in both directions, with the rooks on a1 and e1. Every pawn on the second rank begins with a defender — this setup concedes nothing on move one. A bishop holds the corner on h1 with one diagonal to a8; the second bishop is on g1. The queen is on b1, the knights on c1 and f1. The engine takes the centre with e4 and Black answers in kind: e4 e5 c3 g6 g3 c6.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.