Starting position #636
Back-rank setup: RBNKQRBN
SP-636 · ThroneScout — King on a central file (d/e) with a knight starting on the rim (a/h).
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 f1, the queen on e1.
The kingside rook already stands on f1, so castling short moves only the king, from d1 to g1.
The bishops stand on b1 and g1; their long diagonals reach h7 and a7 once the c- and f-pawns step aside.
The second rank carries 2 pawns with no defender at all: b2, g2.
The setup belongs to the ThroneScout family; read right to left it becomes position 236.
The engine's main line opens with f4.
Every sentence here is computed from the setup itself and can be checked on the board.
Balance
MBI 20 Morozov Balance Index: 20 of 100 — class D — largest edge.
- Engine evaluation of the starting position: +37 centipawns for White (depth 47, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 768 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): +45 → +35 → +15 → 0
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #236
- The king starts on d, the rooks on a and f
- It becomes the daily position in 474 days
Puzzles from this position
- Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to e5 (f4·10) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Winning blow: knight to c6 (e5·8) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Winning blow: knight to c5 (b7·5) — Chess960 specifics · 1060
- Attack on the uncastled king: knight to g7 (f5·17) — Chess960 specifics · 1110
- Mate in 2: queen to a8 (d5) — Chess960 specifics · 1220
- Winning blow: knight to f6 (d7·3) — Chess960 specifics · 1280
- Attack on the uncastled king: bishop to e3 (g1·8) — Chess960 specifics · 1340
- Winning blow: knight to f4 (d3·3) — Chess960 specifics · 1480
- Winning blow: queen to c6 (b6·7) — Chess960 specifics · 1790
- Attack on the uncastled king: knight to g7 (f5·33) — Chess960 specifics · 2200
This position appears in course day 53
In your browser or in the Android app. Nothing to install · Free, no ads
Commentary
The rook already occupies f1, so short castling moves the king alone from d1. The bishops are on b1 and g1, the knights on c1 and h1 — the cornered one has g3 as its only move. Two pawns begin with no defender at all: b2 and g2, one on each wing. The queen is on e1 beside her king, the second rook in the corner on a1. White's edge here is a wide one, +37 centipawns: f4 c6 c3 f6 Ng3 g5.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.