Starting position #764
Back-rank setup: RBKNNRBQ
SP-764 · 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 a1 and f1, the queen on h1.
The king already stands on c1, so castling long moves only the rook, from a1 to d1.
The bishops stand on b1 and g1; their long diagonals reach h7 and a7 once the c- and f-pawns step aside.
One second-rank pawn starts with no defender at all: e2.
The setup belongs to the BastionGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 396.
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 31 Morozov Balance Index: 31 of 100 — class C — noticeable edge.
- Engine evaluation of the starting position: +32 centipawns for White (depth 48, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 663 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 (32 half-moves): +39 → +1 → 0
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #396
- The king starts on c, the rooks on a and f
- It becomes the daily position in 1099 days
Puzzles from this position
- Attack on the uncastled king: bishop to h8 (d4·5) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Winning blow: knight to d7 (e5·6) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Winning blow: king to e1 (f1·9) — Chess960 specifics · 970
- Mate in 2: queen to b7 — Chess960 specifics · 1090
- Winning blow: knight to c6 (e5·22) — Chess960 specifics · 1290
- Mate in 2: queen to f8 (f3) — Chess960 specifics · 1320
- Winning blow: knight to d4 (b5·3) — Chess960 specifics · 1390
- Attack on the uncastled king: bishop to d4 (g1·13) — Chess960 specifics · 1610
- Winning blow: bishop to f4 (e3·4) — Chess960 specifics · 1870
- Winning blow: queen to c6 (a8·4) — Chess960 specifics · 2100
This position appears in course day 58
In your browser or in the Android app. Nothing to install · Free, no ads
Commentary
Both castlings are half-moves here: the king already stands on c1 for the long one, and the rook already occupies f1 for the short. The bishops are on b1 and g1, the knights side by side on d1 and e1. On the second rank, e2 has no defender, and d2 leans on the king alone. The queen begins in the far corner on h1, the second rook in the corner on a1. The search ran to depth 48 here, and Black's rook recaptures at the end: e4 a5 a4 f5 exf5 Rxf5.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.