Starting position #633
Back-rank setup: RNKBBQRN
SP-633 · BastionScout — Off-centre king plus a rim knight (a/h): 168 positions carry this shape.
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 g1, the queen on f1.
The king already stands on c1, so castling long moves only the rook, from a1 to d1.
The bishops stand on d1 and e1; their long diagonals reach h5 and a5 once the e- and d-pawns step aside.
One second-rank pawn starts with no defender at all: h2.
The setup belongs to the BastionScout family; read right to left it becomes position 233.
The engine's main line opens with g4.
Every sentence here is computed from the setup itself and can be checked on the board.
Opening: main line
Stockfish's main line from the start of this setup, 15 moves deep (100 million nodes per move):
1. g4 g5 2. e3 e6 3. Ng3 Be7 4. c4 Ng6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Kb1 Nh4 7. a3 O-O-O 8. d4 f5 9. gxf5 Nxf5 10. Ka2 Bg6
Evaluation after the line: +0.08 for White.
Best first moves for White (evaluation in pawns):
- g4 — +0.29
- e3 — +0.22
- Ng3 — +0.19
Balance
MBI 16 Morozov Balance Index: 16 of 100 — class D — largest edge.
- Engine evaluation of the starting position: +39 centipawns for White (depth 44, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 803 of 960 by balance — 1 is the most balanced start.
- Balance band M — moderate edge · dynamics along the play-out: equalizing
- Evaluation along the engine's main line (60 half-moves): +22 → +44 → 0
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #233
- The king starts on c, the rooks on a and g
- It becomes the daily position in 1365 days
Puzzles from this position
- Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to d4 (e3) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: bishop to d6 (g3·2) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to b4 (a3·5) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Winning blow: knight to c6 (a7·5) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Winning blow: king to a1 (b1·13) — Chess960 specifics · 970
- Winning blow: knight to b5 (d4·3) — Chess960 specifics · 1200
- Attack on the uncastled king: bishop to f5 (e4·2) — Chess960 specifics · 1280
- Mate in 2: queen to a8 (a7·4) — Chess960 specifics · 1440
- Mate in 3: rook to g7 (g1) — Chess960 specifics · 1630
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to e6 (d5·2) — Chess960 specifics · 1630
This position appears in course day 42
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Commentary
The king already stands on c1, so long castling moves the rook alone from a1. The bishops stand side by side on d1 and e1, one on each colour. On the second rank, h2 has no defender, and b2 leans on the king alone. The queen is on f1, the knights on b1 and h1 — the cornered one has g3 as its only move. White's edge here is a wide one, +39 centipawns: g4 g5 d4 d5 e3 Nd7.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.