Starting position #699
Back-rank setup: RQKNBNRB
SP-699 · BastionGuard — King shifted to c or f, knights kept clear of the edges — 168 positions in all.
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 g1, the queen on b1.
The king already stands on c1, so castling long moves only the rook, from a1 to d1.
A bishop starts in the corner on h1: it has a single diagonal, which the g-pawn unlocks, running out to a8.
One second-rank pawn starts with no defender at all: e2.
The setup belongs to the BastionGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 449.
The engine's main line opens with c3.
Every sentence here is computed from the setup itself and can be checked on the board.
Balance
MBI 4 Morozov Balance Index: 4 of 100 — class D — largest edge.
- Engine evaluation of the starting position: +50 centipawns for White (depth 41, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 923 of 960 by balance — 1 is the most balanced start.
- Balance band L — large edge · dynamics along the play-out: volatile
- Evaluation along the engine's main line (60 half-moves): +46 → -22 → 0
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #449
- The king starts on c, the rooks on a and g
- It becomes the daily position in 539 days
Puzzles from this position
- Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to d4 (e3·24) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: knight to d5 (c3·10) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: knight to a5 (c4) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Attack on the uncastled king: rook to g8 (g1·6) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Attack on the uncastled king: king to c2 (b1·10) — Chess960 specifics · 1060
- Winning blow: pawn to f7 (f6·6) — Chess960 specifics · 1110
- Attack on the uncastled king: rook to c3 (a3·3) — Chess960 specifics · 1250
- Winning blow: rook to g8 (g5) — Chess960 specifics · 1280
- Winning blow: rook to e8 (e4·7) — Chess960 specifics · 1510
- Mate in 3: rook to b6 (b3) — Chess960 specifics · 1980
This position appears in course day 107
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Commentary
The king already stands on c1, so long castling moves the rook alone from a1. A bishop holds the corner on h1 with one diagonal to a8; the second bishop is on e1. Among the pawns, e2 is the one that begins without a defender. The queen is on b1 beside her king, the knights side by side on d1 and f1. White's edge here is a wide one, +50 centipawns: c3 e6 f4 d5 g4 g6.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.