Starting position #798
Back-rank setup: RQKNRBBN
SP-798 · BastionScout — King off-centre on c or f with a knight starting on the rim (a/h).
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 a1 and e1, the queen on b1.
The king already stands on c1, so castling long moves only the rook, from a1 to d1.
The bishops stand on f1 and g1; their long diagonals reach a6 and a7 once the e- and f-pawns step aside.
The pawn on d2 is defended by the king alone — the same soft spot f2 is in the classical setup.
The setup belongs to the BastionScout family; read right to left it becomes position 164.
The engine's main line opens with e4, putting a pawn straight into the centre.
Every sentence here is computed from the setup itself and can be checked on the board.
Balance
MBI 31 Morozov Balance Index: 31 of 100 — class C — noticeable edge.
- Engine evaluation of the starting position: +32 centipawns for White (depth 47, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 661 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): +36 → -16 → 0
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #164
- The king starts on c, the rooks on a and e
- It becomes the daily position in 552 days
Puzzles from this position
- Winning blow: bishop to e8 (b5) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Winning blow: queen to e8 (d7) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to f7 (b3·4) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Winning blow: king to e3 (f4) — Chess960 specifics · 970
- Winning blow: rook to a7 (a1·2) — Chess960 specifics · 1150
- Mate in 2: queen to c6 (f3·4) — Chess960 specifics · 1320
- Mate in 2: rook to b7 (c7·2) — Chess960 specifics · 1450
- Mate in 3: queen to d7 (d2) — Chess960 specifics · 1630
- Mate in 3: knight to d5 (f6) — Chess960 specifics · 1760
- Winning blow: king to e3 (d2·6) — Chess960 specifics · 2060
This position appears in course day 139
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Commentary
The king already stands on c1, so long castling moves the rook alone; the rooks are on a1 and e1, and the queen stands right beside, on b1. The bishops stand side by side on f1 and g1, one on each colour. The pawn on d2 leans on the king alone; no other second-rank pawn starts short of a defender. The knights are on d1 and h1 — the cornered one has g3 as its only move. The engine takes the centre with e4 and Black answers in kind: e4 e5 c3 a5 f3 f6.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.