Starting position #722
Back-rank setup: BRKNQBNR
SP-722 · BastionGuard — A c- or f-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 c1, the rooks on b1 and h1, the queen on e1.
The king already stands on c1, so castling long moves only the rook, from b1 to d1.
A bishop starts in the corner on a1: it has a single diagonal, which the b-pawn unlocks, running out to h8.
One second-rank pawn starts with no defender at all: a2.
The setup belongs to the BastionGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 423.
The engine's main line opens with b4.
Every sentence here is computed from the setup itself and can be checked on the board.
Balance
MBI 51 Morozov Balance Index: 51 of 100 — class B — balanced.
- Engine evaluation of the starting position: +26 centipawns for White (depth 43, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 460 of 960 by balance — 1 is the most balanced start.
- Balance band M — moderate edge · dynamics along the play-out: stable
- Evaluation along the engine's main line (60 half-moves): +32 → 0 → 0
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #423
- The king starts on c, the rooks on b and h
- King and rook are neighbours — castling from adjacent squares feels unusual
- This position does not come up as the daily position in the next four years
Puzzles from this position
- Winning blow: pawn to e6 (f5) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to d3 (c2·16) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Winning blow: pawn to d6 (c5·4) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Winning blow: bishop to f5 (g6) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Winning blow: queen to d5 (a8·3) — Chess960 specifics · 1200
- Mate in 2: queen to d6 (c7) — Chess960 specifics · 1450
- Mate in 3: king to c2 (c1) — Chess960 specifics · 1630
- Winning blow: rook to d6 (c6·6) — Chess960 specifics · 1790
- Winning blow: rook to e1 (b1·6) — Chess960 specifics · 2060
- Mate in 3: knight to c6 (b8·2) — Chess960 specifics · 2210
This position appears in course day 117
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Commentary
The king already stands on c1, so long castling moves the rook alone from b1. A bishop is shut into the corner on a1 with a single diagonal to h8; the second bishop is on f1. On the second rank, a2 has no defender, and c2 leans on the king alone. The queen is on e1, the knights on d1 and g1, the second rook in the corner on h1. The recorded line opens b4 e5, then Nf3 e4 Nd4 b6.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.