Starting position #634
Back-rank setup: RNKQBBRN
SP-634 · BastionScout — A knight on the a- or h-file, king on c or f — the mirror twin lands here as well.
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 d1.
The king already stands on c1, so castling long moves only the rook, from a1 to d1.
The bishops stand on e1 and f1; their long diagonals reach a5 and a6 once the d- and e-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 229.
The engine's main line opens with e3.
Every sentence here is computed from the setup itself and can be checked on the board.
Balance
MBI 14 Morozov Balance Index: 14 of 100 — class D — largest edge.
- Engine evaluation of the starting position: +40 centipawns for White (depth 45, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 822 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): +45 → +44 → +33 → +11
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #229
- The king starts on c, the rooks on a and g
- It becomes the daily position in 776 days
Puzzles from this position
- Winning blow: pawn to d3 (c2·4) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to e5 (d4·43) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Winning blow: king to b1 (c1·13) — Chess960 specifics · 970
- Winning blow: rook to h1 (g1·7) — Chess960 specifics · 1110
- Winning blow: king to d1 (c1·15) — Chess960 specifics · 1250
- Winning blow: rook to a8 (f8·2) — Chess960 specifics · 1280
- Mate in 2: rook to f5 (f1·2) — Chess960 specifics · 1630
- Attack on the uncastled king: bishop to a6 (f1·15) — Chess960 specifics · 1630
- Winning blow: pawn to b3 (c2·12) — Chess960 specifics · 1870
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to b6 (b2·4) — Chess960 specifics · 2100
This position appears in course day 83
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. The bishops sit together on e1 and f1, the knights on b1 and h1 — the cornered one has g3 as its only move. Among the pawns, h2 has no defender, and b2 leans on the king alone. The queen is on d1 beside her king, the second rook on g1. White's edge here is a wide one, +40 centipawns: e3 d5 d4 c5 c4 Qc7.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.