Starting position #734
Back-rank setup: RKNQNBBR
SP-734 · 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 f1 and g1; their long diagonals reach a6 and a7 once the e- and f-pawns step aside.
The pawn on b2 is defended by the king alone — the same soft spot f2 is in the classical setup.
The setup belongs to the RampartGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 420.
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 45, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 750 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 (55 half-moves): +31 → +8 → 0
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #420
- 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 1177 days
Puzzles from this position
- Attack on the uncastled king: bishop to e8 (b5) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to d3 (e2·2) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to c3 (d3) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Winning blow: pawn to b5 (a4·5) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Attack on the uncastled king: king to a1 (a2) — Chess960 specifics · 1110
- Winning blow: knight to e6 (c5·13) — Chess960 specifics · 1200
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to b7 (f3·4) — Chess960 specifics · 1450
- Mate in 2: queen to a6 (d3) — Chess960 specifics · 1630
- Winning blow: rook to e7 (e1·26) — Chess960 specifics · 1870
- Mate in 3: queen to d6 (e5·6) — Chess960 specifics · 1980
This position appears in course day 56
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Commentary
The king begins on b1, and short castling takes him five squares across the board to g1. The bishops sit together on f1 and g1, the knights side by side on c1 and e1. On the second rank, b2 leans on the king alone; no other second-rank pawn starts short of a defender. The queen is on d1, the rooks in the corners on a1 and h1. The engine takes the centre with e4, and its queen recaptures on the fifth half-move: e4 e5 d4 exd4 Qxd4 f5.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.