Starting position #756
Back-rank setup: RBBKNNRQ
SP-756 · 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 a1 and g1, the queen on h1.
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 b1 and c1; their long diagonals reach h7 and h6 once the c- and d-pawns step aside.
One second-rank pawn starts with no defender at all: f2.
The setup belongs to the ThroneGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 398.
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 34 Morozov Balance Index: 34 of 100 — class C — noticeable edge.
- Engine evaluation of the starting position: +31 centipawns for White (depth 44, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 630 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): +35 → +25 → 0
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #398
- The king starts on d, the rooks on a and g
- This position does not come up as the daily position in the next four years
Puzzles from this position
- Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to f4 (g3·7) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to e6 (f5·13) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: knight to f7 (g5·21) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Winning blow: rook to e1 (e5) — Chess960 specifics · 970
- Mate in 2: rook to e8 (f8) — Chess960 specifics · 1090
- Winning blow: rook to e7 (a7) — Chess960 specifics · 1200
- Winning blow: knight to d4 (f3·7) — Chess960 specifics · 1280
- Mate in 2: queen to f7 (f3·8) — Chess960 specifics · 1450
- Mate in 3: queen to e6 (b6) — Chess960 specifics · 1630
- Mate in 3: queen to b4 (c3) — Chess960 specifics · 2210
This position appears in course day 63
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Commentary
The king begins on d1 and castling is ordinary in both directions, with the rooks on a1 and g1. The bishops stand side by side on b1 and c1, one on each colour. The pawn on f2 has no defender, and e2 leans on the king alone. The queen begins in the far corner on h1, the knights side by side on e1 and f1. The engine takes the centre with d4 and the line runs d4 d5 g3 Nf6 c3 c6.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.