Starting position #650
Back-rank setup: RNKRBBQN
SP-650 · BastionScout — The king starts one file off-centre, on c or f, and a knight begins in a corner.
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 d1, the queen on g1.
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.
The pawn on b2, c2 is defended by the king alone — the same soft spot f2 is in the classical setup.
The setup belongs to the BastionScout family; read right to left it becomes position 213.
The engine's main line opens with d4, 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 43 Morozov Balance Index: 43 of 100 — class C — noticeable edge.
- Engine evaluation of the starting position: +28 centipawns for White (depth 47, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 541 of 960 by balance — 1 is the most balanced start.
- Balance band M — moderate edge · dynamics along the play-out: sharpening
- Evaluation along the engine's main line (60 half-moves): +39 → +48 → +53 → +45
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #213
- The king starts on c, the rooks on a and d
- King and rook are neighbours — castling from adjacent squares feels unusual
- It becomes the daily position in 372 days
Puzzles from this position
- Attack on the uncastled king: king to c2 (b1·3) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: bishop to f4 (g3·2) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Winning blow: pawn to b5 (a4·2) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Attack on the uncastled king: rook to e8 (e6·2) — Chess960 specifics · 1090
- Winning blow: knight to c5 (b3·10) — Chess960 specifics · 1200
- Winning blow: queen to b6 (g1·3) — Chess960 specifics · 1290
- Mate in 2: queen to d8 (d5·4) — Chess960 specifics · 1320
- Mate in 3: queen to d5 (e6) — Chess960 specifics · 1630
- Mate in 3: rook to e1 (e8) — Chess960 specifics · 1630
- Chess960 tactic on a5 (c3) — Chess960 specifics · 2250
This position appears in course day 62
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Commentary
The king already stands on c1, so long castling moves the rook alone from d1. The bishops sit together on e1 and f1, the knights on b1 and h1 — the cornered one has g3 as its only move. Two second-rank pawns lean on the king alone: b2 and c2, side by side. The queen is on g1, the second rook in the corner on a1. The engine takes the centre with d4 and the line runs d4 d5 f3 Nc6 Nc3 f6.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.