Starting position #718
Back-rank setup: RKQNNBBR
SP-718 · RampartGuard — Both knights begin on inner files while the king sits on the wing (b/g); mirror twins stay together in this family.
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 c1.
From b1 the king makes the longest journey Chess960 allows when castling short: five squares to g1.
The bishops stand on f1 and g1; their long diagonals reach a6 and a7 once the e- and f-pawns step aside.
Every pawn on the second rank is defended from the very first move.
The setup belongs to the RampartGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 436.
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 65 Morozov Balance Index: 65 of 100 — class B — balanced.
- Engine evaluation of the starting position: +22 centipawns for White (depth 45, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 330 of 960 by balance — 1 is the most balanced start.
- Balance band S — slight edge · dynamics along the play-out: equalizing
- Evaluation along the engine's main line (60 half-moves): +60 → +10 → +6 → 0
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #436
- 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 944 days
Puzzles from this position
- Winning blow: rook to d5 — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to g6 (h5·10) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Winning blow: queen to c3 (g7) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Winning blow: pawn to e5 (d4·17) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Winning blow: king to b3 (a2) — Chess960 specifics · 970
- Attack on the uncastled king: rook to d8 (d1·15) — Chess960 specifics · 1060
- Winning blow: king to a1 (b1·26) — Chess960 specifics · 1610
- Mate in 3: bishop to f5 (d3·5) — Chess960 specifics · 1760
- Winning blow: rook to h7 (e7·2) — Chess960 specifics · 1870
- Winning blow: rook to c4 (h4) — Chess960 specifics · 2100
This position appears in course day 22
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Commentary
The king begins on b1, and short castling takes him five squares across the board to g1. Every pawn on the second rank begins with a defender — this setup concedes nothing on move one. The bishops sit together on f1 and g1, the knights side by side on d1 and e1. The queen is on c1 beside her king, the rooks in the corners on a1 and h1. The engine takes the centre with d4 and both sides mirror: d4 d5 f3 f6 e4 e5.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.