Starting position #697
Back-rank setup: RQKBBNNR
SP-697 · BastionGuard — The king starts one file off-centre, on c or f, with neither knight 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 c1, the rooks on a1 and h1, the queen on b1.
The king already stands on c1, so castling long moves only the rook, from a1 to d1.
The bishops stand on d1 and e1; their long diagonals reach h5 and a5 once the e- and d-pawns step aside.
One second-rank pawn starts with no defender at all: g2.
The setup belongs to the BastionGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 457.
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 18 Morozov Balance Index: 18 of 100 — class D — largest edge.
- Engine evaluation of the starting position: +38 centipawns for White (depth 43, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 785 of 960 by balance — 1 is the most balanced start.
- Balance band M — moderate edge · dynamics along the play-out: volatile
- Evaluation along the engine's main line (60 half-moves): +49 → 0 → -7 → -19
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #457
- The king starts on c, the rooks on a and h
- It becomes the daily position in 852 days
Puzzles from this position
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to b6 (b2) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to b6 (a5·13) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Winning blow: knight to f7 (h8) — Chess960 specifics · 970
- Mate in 2: rook to f8 (f1·3) — Chess960 specifics · 1090
- Winning blow: knight to h8 (f7·4) — Chess960 specifics · 1200
- Mate in 2: queen to a5 (d8) — Chess960 specifics · 1220
- Winning blow: rook to f7 (f8·5) — Chess960 specifics · 1280
- Winning blow: rook to e1 (b1·3) — Chess960 specifics · 1420
- Mate in 2: queen to e8 (e6·4) — Chess960 specifics · 1440
- Winning blow: rook to c1 (a1·7) — Chess960 specifics · 2060
This position appears in course day 112
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Commentary
The king already stands on c1, so long castling moves the rook alone from a1. The bishops stand side by side on d1 and e1, one on each colour. Among the pawns, g2 is the one that begins without a defender. The queen is on b1 beside her king, the knights side by side on f1 and g1. White's edge here is a wide one, +38 centipawns: d4 c6 c4 d5 Ne3 Nf6.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.