Starting position #657
Back-rank setup: BRNBKRNQ
SP-657 · ThroneGuard — Both knights start on inner files (b–g) while the king sits centrally on d or e — one of 204 positions filed here.
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 b1 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 203.
The engine's main line opens with e4, 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 61 Morozov Balance Index: 61 of 100 — class B — balanced.
- Engine evaluation of the starting position: +23 centipawns for White (depth 47, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 369 of 960 by balance — 1 is the most balanced start.
- Balance band S — slight edge · dynamics along the play-out: equalizing
- Evaluation along the engine's main line (60 half-moves): +19 → +15 → +18 → 0
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #203
- The king starts on e, the rooks on b 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: knight to d6 (e4) — Chess960 specifics · 620
- Attack on the uncastled king: knight to d4 (e2·2) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: knight to c4 (d2·4) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to d5 (c4·63) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: bishop to c2 (d3) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: bishop to b7 (f3·6) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Winning blow: knight to g6 (f4·3) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Mate in 3: pawn to a4 (a2) — Chess960 specifics · 1760
- Winning blow: queen to d7 (g4·9) — Chess960 specifics · 2100
- Chess960 tactic on e6 (b3·2) — Chess960 specifics · 2400
This position appears in course day 13
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Commentary
The rook already occupies f1, so short castling moves the king alone from e1. A bishop is closed into the corner on a1 with a single diagonal to h8; the second bishop is on d1. 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 c1 and g1, the second rook on b1. The engine takes the centre with e4 and the line runs e4 b5 Bf3 h5 g3 Qh7.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.