Starting position #720
Back-rank setup: BBRKNQNR
SP-720 · ThroneGuard — King on a central file (d/e) with both knights on inner files — the classic-type setup.
Move the pieces right on the board — full Chess960 rules, castle by dropping the king on the rook.
Position features
The king starts on d1, the rooks on c1 and h1, the queen on f1.
Castling long simply swaps the two pieces: the king on d1 and the rook on c1 trade places.
A bishop starts in the corner on a1: it has a single diagonal, which the b-pawn unlocks, running out to h8.
The pawn on d2 is defended by the king alone — the same soft spot f2 is in the classical setup.
The setup belongs to the ThroneGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 431.
The engine's main line opens with c4.
Every sentence here is computed from the setup itself and can be checked on the board.
Balance
MBI 55 Morozov Balance Index: 55 of 100 — class B — balanced.
- Engine evaluation of the starting position: +25 centipawns for White (depth 48, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 418 of 960 by balance — 1 is the most balanced start.
- Balance band S — slight edge · dynamics along the play-out: volatile
- Evaluation along the engine's main line (60 half-moves): +18 → +16 → +25 → 0
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #431
- The king starts on d, the rooks on c and h
- King and rook are neighbours — castling from adjacent squares feels unusual
- It becomes the daily position in 220 days
Puzzles from this position
- Attack on the uncastled king: bishop to e7 (a3) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to e4 (f3·20) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: knight to f7 (g5·26) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Winning blow: bishop to c6 (b5·4) — Chess960 specifics · 1010
- Winning blow: bishop to e4 (b1·3) — Chess960 specifics · 1110
- Mate in 2: rook to d7 (d1·3) — Chess960 specifics · 1220
- Mate in 3: rook to c7 (c1) — Chess960 specifics · 1630
- Winning blow: knight to g4 (f2·4) — Chess960 specifics · 1650
- Mate in 3: knight to g5 (f7) — Chess960 specifics · 1860
- Chess960 tactic on d5 (f4·2) — Chess960 specifics · 2400
This position appears in course day 20
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Commentary
Long castling swaps the king on d1 with the rook on c1. A bishop is shut into the corner on a1 with a single diagonal to h8; the second works the light squares from b1. The pawn on d2 leans on the king alone; no other second-rank pawn starts short of a defender. The queen is on f1, the knights on e1 and g1, the second rook in the corner on h1. The search ran to depth 48 and calls it +25 centipawns: c4 c5 f4 f5 e3 b6.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.