Starting position #710
Back-rank setup: RKBQNBNR
SP-710 · RampartGuard — A b- or g-file king and two knights on inner files (b–g).
Move the pieces right on the board — full Chess960 rules, castle by dropping the king on the rook.
Position features
The king starts on b1, the rooks on a1 and h1, the queen on d1.
From b1 the king makes the longest journey Chess960 allows when castling short: five squares to g1.
The bishops stand on c1 and f1; their long diagonals reach h6 and a6 once the d- and e-pawns step aside.
One second-rank pawn starts with no defender at all: f2.
The setup belongs to the RampartGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 438.
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 21 Morozov Balance Index: 21 of 100 — class D — largest edge.
- Engine evaluation of the starting position: +36 centipawns for White (depth 47, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 751 of 960 by balance — 1 is the most balanced start.
- Balance band M — moderate edge · dynamics along the play-out: equalizing
- Evaluation along the engine's main line (60 half-moves): +46 → +20 → 0
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #438
- The king starts on b, the rooks on a and h
- King and rook are neighbours — castling from adjacent squares feels unusual
- It becomes the daily position in 448 days
Puzzles from this position
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to f7 (g6) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to d6 (e5·16) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: king to a2 (b1·7) — Chess960 specifics · 970
- Winning blow: rook to c5 (c1·7) — Chess960 specifics · 1010
- Winning blow: rook to f7 (f8·4) — Chess960 specifics · 1200
- Attack on the uncastled king: knight to e5 (d3·19) — Chess960 specifics · 1250
- Winning blow: queen to b5 (d5·2) — Chess960 specifics · 1510
- Attack on the uncastled king: bishop to f4 (g5·3) — Chess960 specifics · 1560
- Mate in 3: queen to a5 (e1·3) — Chess960 specifics · 1760
- Winning blow: knight to b5 (d4·10) — Chess960 specifics · 2380
This position appears in course day 107
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Commentary
The king begins on b1, and short castling takes him five squares across the board to g1. The bishops are on c1 and f1, the knights on e1 and g1. Among the pawns, f2 is the one that begins without a defender. The queen is on d1, the rooks in the corners on a1 and h1. White's edge here is a wide one, +36 centipawns: e4 e5 Ngf3 Nd6 Qe2 f6.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.