Starting position #791
Back-rank setup: RQBKNRNB
SP-791 · ThroneGuard — King home on d or e, knights kept off the a- and h-files — the family of the standard starting array.
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 a1 and f1, the queen on b1.
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 162.
The engine's main line opens with c3.
Every sentence here is computed from the setup itself and can be checked on the board.
Balance
MBI 59 Morozov Balance Index: 59 of 100 — class B — balanced.
- Engine evaluation of the starting position: +24 centipawns for White (depth 45, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 388 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): +21 → +6 → +8 → 0
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #162
- The king starts on d, the rooks on a and f
- It becomes the daily position in 245 days
Puzzles from this position
- Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to f4 (g3·5) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: bishop to g7 (h6·4) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Winning blow: pawn to d7 (c6·4) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to e4 (d3) — Chess960 specifics · 1010
- Mate in 2: queen to e7 (h7) — Chess960 specifics · 1220
- Winning blow: queen to d6 (b4·6) — Chess960 specifics · 1280
- Winning blow: pawn to f7 (e6·5) — Chess960 specifics · 1560
- Mate in 3: knight to d2 (b3) — Chess960 specifics · 1630
- Mate in 3: bishop to c7 (f4) — Chess960 specifics · 1860
- Chess960 tactic on a4 (a3) — Chess960 specifics · 2120
This position appears in course day 45
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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 is tucked away on b1, the knights on e1 and g1 — both can reach f3, so a knight move there has to name its file. White's edge is +24 centipawns, and the engine opens quietly with c3: c3 g6 d4 d5 Nd3 Nd6.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.