Starting position #799
Back-rank setup: RQKNRNBB
SP-799 · BastionGuard — The king starts one file off-centre, on c or f, with neither knight in a corner.
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.
A bishop starts in the corner on h1: it has a single diagonal, which the g-pawn unlocks, running out to a8.
Every pawn on the second rank is defended from the very first move.
The setup belongs to the BastionGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 160.
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 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 889 of 960 by balance — 1 is the most balanced start.
- Balance band L — large edge · dynamics along the play-out: volatile
- Evaluation along the engine's main line (60 half-moves): +53 → +54 → +80 → +74
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #160
- The king starts on c, the rooks on a and e
- It becomes the daily position in 320 days
Puzzles from this position
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to d3 — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Winning blow: knight to a8 — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Winning blow: rook to c7 (f7·2) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Attack on the uncastled king: bishop to d5 (h1·27) — Chess960 specifics · 1060
- Attack on the uncastled king: knight to b6 (c4·2) — Chess960 specifics · 1150
- Winning blow: rook to c6 (d6) — Chess960 specifics · 1290
- Mate in 2: pawn to d6 (d5) — Chess960 specifics · 1440
- Winning blow: queen to c7 (b8·4) — Chess960 specifics · 1560
- Winning blow: queen to c7 (b7·3) — Chess960 specifics · 1650
- Winning blow: rook to d2 (e2·3) — Chess960 specifics · 2060
This position appears in course day 56
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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 sit together at the edge, on g1 and h1, and the cornered one has a single diagonal to a8. Every pawn on the second rank begins with a defender — this setup concedes nothing on move one. The knights are on d1 and f1 — both can reach e3, so a knight move there has to name its file. White's edge here is a wide one, +47 centipawns, and the whole line mirrors: e4 e5 g3 g6 c3 c6.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.