Starting position #779
Back-rank setup: QRKNBRNB
SP-779 · BastionGuard — Off-centre king (c/f), no knight on the a- or h-file.
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 f1, the queen on a1.
The king already stands on c1, so castling long moves only the rook, from b1 to d1.
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 BastionGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 177.
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 7 Morozov Balance Index: 7 of 100 — class D — largest edge.
- Engine evaluation of the starting position: +47 centipawns for White (depth 45, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 891 of 960 by balance — 1 is the most balanced start.
- Balance band L — large edge · dynamics along the play-out: equalizing
- Evaluation along the engine's main line (60 half-moves): +50 → +44 → +5 → 0
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #177
- The king starts on c, the rooks on b and f
- King and rook are neighbours — castling from adjacent squares feels unusual
- It becomes the daily position in 135 days
Puzzles from this position
- Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to c5 (b4·21) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to c7 (a5) — Chess960 specifics · 850
- Attack on the uncastled king: bishop to d2 (c3) — Chess960 specifics · 970
- Winning blow: pawn to c6 (b5·8) — Chess960 specifics · 1200
- Winning blow: queen to b1 (c2·2) — Chess960 specifics · 1200
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to d4 (a1·11) — Chess960 specifics · 1280
- Winning blow: bishop to c6 (d5·2) — Chess960 specifics · 1480
- Winning blow: knight to e5 (g6·2) — Chess960 specifics · 1650
- Winning blow: bishop to f3 (h1·9) — Chess960 specifics · 1870
- Attack on the uncastled king: rook to f7 (f1·11) — Chess960 specifics · 2400
This position appears in course day 37
In your browser or in the Android app. Nothing to install · Free, no ads
Commentary
Castling is one-sided on both wings: the rook already occupies f1, so the short one moves the king alone, and the king already stands on c1, so the long one moves the rook alone. A bishop holds the corner on h1 with one diagonal to a8; the second bishop is on e1. Among the pawns, h2 begins without a defender, and the pawn on c2 leans on the king alone. The queen begins in the far corner on a1, the knights on d1 and g1. White's edge here is a wide one, +47 centipawns: b4 b5 a4 a6 d3 d6.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.