Starting position #693
Back-rank setup: RQBBKNNR
SP-693 · 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 a1 and h1, the queen on b1.
Castling ends where it always does: king to g1 and rook to f1 on the short side, king to c1 and rook to d1 on the long one.
The bishops stand on c1 and d1; their long diagonals reach h6 and h5 once the d- and e-pawns step aside.
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 458.
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 69 Morozov Balance Index: 69 of 100 — class B — balanced.
- Engine evaluation of the starting position: +21 centipawns for White (depth 47, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 291 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): +33 → -1 → 0
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #458
- The king starts on e, the rooks on a and h
- This position does not come up as the daily position in the next four years
Puzzles from this position
- Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to c5 (d4·7) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to a6 (b5·2) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: bishop to b3 (d1) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to f5 (e4·52) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to a1 (b2) — Chess960 specifics · 970
- Mate in 2: pawn to f6 (e5·2) — Chess960 specifics · 1220
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to f7 (b3·7) — Chess960 specifics · 1320
- Attack on the uncastled king: bishop to d2 (c1·2) — Chess960 specifics · 1340
- Attack on the uncastled king: bishop to f4 (c1·37) — Chess960 specifics · 1750
- Mate in 3: rook to b7 (b1·8) — Chess960 specifics · 1980
This position appears in course day 65
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Commentary
Castling is ordinary in both directions from e1, with the rooks in the corners on a1 and h1. The bishops stand side by side on c1 and d1, one on each colour. On the second rank, g2 has no defender, and f2 leans on the king alone. The queen is on b1, the knights side by side on f1 and g1. The engine takes the centre with e4 and Black answers in kind: e4 e5 c3 c6 Ng3 d5.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.