Starting position #758
Back-rank setup: RKBNNBRQ
SP-758 · 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 g1, the queen on h1.
From b1 the king makes the longest journey Chess960 allows when castling short: five squares to g1.
The bishops stand on c1 and f1; their long diagonals reach h6 and a6 once the d- and e-pawns step aside.
Every pawn on the second rank is defended from the very first move.
The setup belongs to the RampartGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 390.
The engine's main line opens with a4.
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 47, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 629 of 960 by balance — 1 is the most balanced start.
- Balance band M — moderate edge · dynamics along the play-out: sharpening
- Evaluation along the engine's main line (60 half-moves): +36 → +25 → +31 → +20
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #390
- The king starts on b, the rooks on a and g
- King and rook are neighbours — castling from adjacent squares feels unusual
- It becomes the daily position in 574 days
Puzzles from this position
- Attack on the uncastled king: bishop to e8 (b5·2) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Winning blow: bishop to a7 (c5) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to a3 (b2·31) — Chess960 specifics · 1060
- Mate in 2: queen to c5 (c6) — Chess960 specifics · 1090
- Mate in 2: queen to d6 (e6) — Chess960 specifics · 1090
- Winning blow: pawn to b4 (c3·2) — Chess960 specifics · 1200
- Winning blow: rook to b7 (b3·2) — Chess960 specifics · 1290
- Winning blow: queen to f6 (g6·3) — Chess960 specifics · 1290
- Mate in 3: knight to c6 (a7·3) — Chess960 specifics · 2170
- Chess960 tactic on b7 (g2) — Chess960 specifics · 2400
This position appears in course day 240
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Commentary
The king begins on b1, and short castling takes him five squares across the board to g1. Every pawn on the second rank begins with a defender — this setup concedes nothing on move one. The bishops are on c1 and f1, the knights side by side on d1 and e1. The queen begins in the far corner on h1, the second rook in the corner on a1. White's edge here is a wide one, +31 centipawns: a4 a5 g4 e5 e4 g6.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.