Starting position #775
Back-rank setup: QRBKNRNB
SP-775 · ThroneGuard — A central king (d or e) and two knights tucked onto inner files: the family that holds the standard array, SP-518.
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 b1 and f1, the queen on a1.
The kingside rook already stands on f1, so castling short moves only the king, from d1 to g1.
A bishop starts in the corner on h1: it has a single diagonal, which the g-pawn unlocks, running out to a8.
One second-rank pawn starts with no defender at all: h2.
The setup belongs to the ThroneGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 178.
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 65 Morozov Balance Index: 65 of 100 — class B — balanced.
- Engine evaluation of the starting position: +22 centipawns for White (depth 46, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 328 of 960 by balance — 1 is the most balanced start.
- Balance band S — slight edge · dynamics along the play-out: equalizing
- Evaluation along the engine's main line (60 half-moves): +47 → +35 → +9 → 0
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #178
- The king starts on d, the rooks on b and f
- It becomes the daily position in 342 days
Puzzles from this position
- Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to b6 (c5) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to f5 (e4·17) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: king to c2 (d1·5) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to a4 (a1) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to d6 (d4·2) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Attack on the uncastled king: bishop to h8 (b2·9) — Chess960 specifics · 1060
- Winning blow: queen to d6 (f6) — Chess960 specifics · 1280
- Mate in 3: rook to b7 — Chess960 specifics · 1630
- Mate in 3: queen to f6 (g7·2) — Chess960 specifics · 1630
- Mate in 3: pawn to e5 (d4·2) — Chess960 specifics · 1980
This position appears in course day 44
In your browser or in the Android app. Nothing to install · Free, no ads
Commentary
The rook already occupies f1, so short castling moves the king alone from d1. A bishop holds the corner on h1 with one diagonal to a8; the second bishop is on c1. Among the pawns, h2 is the one that begins without a defender. The queen begins in the far corner on a1, the knights on e1 and g1 — both can reach f3, so the third half-move carries a letter. The line runs b4 b6 Ngf3 Ngf6 c4 c5.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.