Starting position #73
Back-rank setup: NNRBBKQR
SP-73 · BastionScout — A c- or f-file king with at least one knight out on the edge.
Move the pieces right on the board — full Chess960 rules, castle by dropping the king on the rook.
Position features
The king starts on f1, the rooks on c1 and h1, the queen on g1.
Castling ends where it always does: king to g1 and rook to f1 on the short side, king to c1 and rook to d1 on the long one.
The bishops stand on d1 and e1; their long diagonals reach h5 and a5 once the e- and d-pawns step aside.
The second rank carries 2 pawns with no defender at all: a2, b2.
The setup belongs to the BastionScout family; read right to left it becomes position 889.
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 34 Morozov Balance Index: 34 of 100 — class C — noticeable edge.
- Engine evaluation of the starting position: +31 centipawns for White (depth 45, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 649 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 → +32 → +25 → 0
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #889
- The king starts on f, the rooks on c and h
- It becomes the daily position in 888 days
Puzzles from this position
- Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to c3 (b2·4) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: bishop to b6 (a5) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to b5 (c4·28) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Winning blow: queen to f3 (g2·2) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Winning blow: pawn to c8 — Chess960 specifics · 970
- Winning blow: pawn to e4 (d3·12) — Chess960 specifics · 1200
- Attack on the uncastled king: rook to b1 (c1·4) — Chess960 specifics · 1390
- Winning blow: queen to f7 (c4·2) — Chess960 specifics · 1610
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to g5 (g1·3) — Chess960 specifics · 1790
- Chess960 tactic on a8 (a3) — Chess960 specifics · 2400
This position appears in course day 62
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Commentary
The rooks are split wide, c1 and h1, with the king on f1 and the queen on g1 between them. Castling is ordinary in both directions. A knight starts in the corner on a1 with a single move, b3. The pawns on a2 and b2 begin with no defender at all. The published line opens b4 b6, then g3 d6 Qg2 f5 — the queen takes the long diagonal from her own corner side.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.