Starting position #656
Back-rank setup: BBRNKRNQ
SP-656 · ThroneGuard — The king starts in the middle of the back rank, on d or e, and neither 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 e1, the rooks on c1 and f1, the queen on h1.
The kingside rook already stands on f1, so castling short moves only the king, from e1 to g1.
A bishop starts in the corner on a1: it has a single diagonal, which the b-pawn unlocks, running out to h8.
The pawn on d2 is defended by the king alone — the same soft spot f2 is in the classical setup.
The setup belongs to the ThroneGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 207.
The engine's main line opens with c4.
Every sentence here is computed from the setup itself and can be checked on the board.
Balance
MBI 47 Morozov Balance Index: 47 of 100 — class C — noticeable edge.
- Engine evaluation of the starting position: +27 centipawns for White (depth 47, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 501 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): +29 → 0 → 0
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #207
- The king starts on e, the rooks on c and f
- King and rook are neighbours — castling from adjacent squares feels unusual
- This position does not come up as the daily position in the next four years
Puzzles from this position
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to a8 (h1) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to c4 (b3·22) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Mate in 1: queen to f7 (g6) — Chess960 specifics · 850
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to h8 (g7·5) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Winning blow: bishop to f8 (g7·2) — Chess960 specifics · 1010
- Winning blow: rook to g5 (g1) — Chess960 specifics · 1110
- Mate in 2: queen to f6 (c3·6) — Chess960 specifics · 1320
- Winning blow: rook to f7 (f8·7) — Chess960 specifics · 1510
- Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to d7 (d6·6) — Chess960 specifics · 1700
- Winning blow: rook to c8 (c4·2) — Chess960 specifics · 1930
This position appears in course day 41
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Commentary
The rook already occupies f1, so short castling moves the king alone from e1. A bishop is shut into the corner on a1 with a single diagonal to h8; the second works the light squares from b1. On the second rank, d2 leans on the king alone; no other second-rank pawn starts short of a defender. The queen begins in the far corner on h1, the knights on d1 and g1, the second rook on c1. The recorded line opens c4 c5, then g4 g6 f4 f5.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.