Starting position #672
Back-rank setup: BBQRKNNR
SP-672 · 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 c1.
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: g2.
The setup belongs to the ThroneGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 479.
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 51 Morozov Balance Index: 51 of 100 — class B — balanced.
- Engine evaluation of the starting position: +26 centipawns for White (depth 45, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 464 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): +35 → +7 → 0
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #479
- 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 404 days
Puzzles from this position
- Winning blow: bishop to d3 — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: king to e2 (e1) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Winning blow: knight to f6 (d5·4) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Winning blow: king to e2 (f1·8) — Chess960 specifics · 970
- Winning blow: queen to g6 (g5·2) — Chess960 specifics · 1150
- Mate in 2: queen to h6 (h4) — Chess960 specifics · 1220
- Winning blow: queen to g6 (g5·3) — Chess960 specifics · 1290
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to d7 (b5) — Chess960 specifics · 1320
- Mate in 3: rook to h8 (h1·3) — Chess960 specifics · 1760
- Chess960 tactic on a7 (a1) — Chess960 specifics · 2400
This position appears in course day 22
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Commentary
The rook already occupies d1, so long 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. The pawn on g2 has no defender, and f2 leans on the king alone. The queen is on c1, the knights side by side on f1 and g1. The engine takes the centre with d4 and pushes it on: d4 b5 Nf3 c5 d5 c4.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.