Starting position #777
Back-rank setup: QRKBBNRN
SP-777 · BastionScout — Off-centre king plus a rim knight (a/h): 168 positions carry this shape.
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 b1 and g1, the queen on a1.
The king already stands on c1, so castling long moves only the rook, from b1 to d1.
The bishops stand on d1 and e1; their long diagonals reach h5 and a5 once the e- and d-pawns step aside.
Every pawn on the second rank is defended from the very first move.
The setup belongs to the BastionScout family; read right to left it becomes position 185.
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 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 627 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): +44 → +28 → -3 → -5
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #185
- The king starts on c, the rooks on b and g
- King and rook are neighbours — castling from adjacent squares feels unusual
- It becomes the daily position in 1199 days
Puzzles from this position
- Attack on the uncastled king: rook to b6 — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to a6 — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Winning blow: knight to e8 (d6·2) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: bishop to e6 (g4) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Winning blow: bishop to c1 (f4) — Chess960 specifics · 970
- Attack on the uncastled king: king to c2 (c1·7) — Chess960 specifics · 1250
- Winning blow: pawn to c3 (b2·17) — Chess960 specifics · 1280
- Mate in 3: queen to g8 (h8·2) — Chess960 specifics · 1630
- Winning blow: pawn to g8 (f7) — Chess960 specifics · 1870
- Chess960 tactic on b6 (d4) — Chess960 specifics · 2350
This position appears in course day 54
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Commentary
The king already stands on c1, so long castling moves the rook alone; the rooks are on b1 and g1. The bishops are on d1 and e1, one on each colour. Every pawn on the second rank begins with a defender — this setup concedes nothing on move one. The queen begins in the far corner on a1, the knights on f1 and h1 — the cornered one has g3 as its only move. White's edge is +31 centipawns, and the line runs b4 b5 a4 a6 d3 d5.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.