Starting position #789
Back-rank setup: RQBBKNRN
SP-789 · ThroneScout — Centre-file king, rim knight: 204 of the 960 positions share this pattern.
Move the pieces right on the board — full Chess960 rules, castle by dropping the king on the rook.
Position features
The king starts on e1, the rooks on a1 and g1, the queen on b1.
Castling ends where it always does: king to g1 and rook to f1 on the short side, king to c1 and rook to d1 on the long one.
The bishops stand on c1 and d1; their long diagonals reach h6 and h5 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 ThroneScout family; read right to left it becomes position 170.
The engine's main line opens with e3.
Every sentence here is computed from the setup itself and can be checked on the board.
Balance
MBI 37 Morozov Balance Index: 37 of 100 — class C — noticeable edge.
- Engine evaluation of the starting position: +30 centipawns for White (depth 43, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 595 of 960 by balance — 1 is the most balanced start.
- Balance band M — moderate edge · dynamics along the play-out: volatile
- Evaluation along the engine's main line (60 half-moves): +57 → -26 → 0
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #170
- The king starts on e, the rooks on a and g
- It becomes the daily position in 28 days
Puzzles from this position
- Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to e5 (d4·10) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to h4 (g3·6) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to d6 (c5·29) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Winning blow: queen to c8 (a8·2) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Winning blow: queen to b3 (e6) — Chess960 specifics · 1200
- Winning blow: knight to d6 (e4·8) — Chess960 specifics · 1250
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to g8 (e6) — Chess960 specifics · 1320
- Winning blow: queen to e3 (g3) — Chess960 specifics · 1510
- Mate in 3: queen to e5 (c3) — Chess960 specifics · 1760
- Winning blow: bishop to b3 (d1) — Chess960 specifics · 2060
This position appears in course day 41
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Commentary
Castling is ordinary in both directions from e1, with the rooks on a1 and g1. The bishops stand side by side on c1 and d1, one on each colour. Every pawn on the second rank begins with a defender — this setup concedes nothing on move one. The queen is tucked away on b1, the knights on f1 and h1 — both can reach g3, so the fifth half-move carries a letter. The engine opens quietly with e3: e3 e6 b4 d5 Nfg3 Nd7.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.