Starting position #66
Back-rank setup: BNNRKBQR
SP-66 · ThroneGuard — King on a central file (d/e) with both knights on inner files — the classic-type setup.
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 d1 and h1, the queen on g1.
The queenside rook already stands on d1, so castling long moves only the king, from e1 to c1.
A bishop starts in the corner on a1: it has a single diagonal, which the b-pawn unlocks, running out to h8.
One second-rank pawn starts with no defender at all: c2.
The setup belongs to the ThroneGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 887.
The engine's main line opens with b3.
Every sentence here is computed from the setup itself and can be checked on the board.
Balance
MBI 65 Morozov Balance Index: 65 of 100 — class B — balanced.
- Engine evaluation of the starting position: +22 centipawns for White (depth 45, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 358 of 960 by balance — 1 is the most balanced start.
- Balance band S — slight edge · dynamics along the play-out: stable
- Evaluation along the engine's main line (60 half-moves): +20 → +16 → +25 → +7
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #887
- The king starts on e, the rooks on d and h
- King and rook are neighbours — castling from adjacent squares feels unusual
- It becomes the daily position in 825 days
Puzzles from this position
- Attack on the uncastled king: bishop to f3 (e2) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: knight to e4 (c3·9) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Winning blow: knight to g8 — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to e5 (d4·105) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Winning blow: king to b1 (c1·16) — Chess960 specifics · 970
- Winning blow: queen to c7 (c8·3) — Chess960 specifics · 1200
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to c7 (h2·4) — Chess960 specifics · 1560
- Mate in 3: queen to f3 (c6) — Chess960 specifics · 1630
- Mate in 3: queen to e6 (e4) — Chess960 specifics · 1760
- Chess960 tactic on b8 (d6) — Chess960 specifics · 2400
This position appears in course day 130
In your browser or in the Android app. Nothing to install · Free, no ads
Commentary
The king starts on e1 and the rook on d1, so long castling moves the king alone. The queen is out on g1, far from the king, with a bishop on f1 between them. The corner bishop on a1 has one diagonal, to h8, and the b-pawn to open it. The pawn on c2 begins with no defender. The engine's main line opens b3 b6, then h4 h5 Nc3 Nd6.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.