Starting position #805
Back-rank setup: RKBBQNRN
SP-805 · RampartScout — A wing-file king (b or g) and at least one corner knight: the rarest of the six families, just 72 positions.
Move the pieces right on the board — full Chess960 rules, castle by dropping the king on the rook.
Position features
The king starts on b1, the rooks on a1 and g1, the queen on e1.
From b1 the king makes the longest journey Chess960 allows when castling short: five squares to g1.
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 RampartScout family; read right to left it becomes position 154.
The engine's main line opens with d4, 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 47 Morozov Balance Index: 47 of 100 — class C — noticeable edge.
- Engine evaluation of the starting position: +27 centipawns for White (depth 45, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 499 of 960 by balance — 1 is the most balanced start.
- Balance band M — moderate edge · dynamics along the play-out: sharpening
- Evaluation along the engine's main line (60 half-moves): +33 → +35 → -4 → -16
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #154
- The king starts on b, the rooks on a and g
- King and rook are neighbours — castling from adjacent squares feels unusual
- It becomes the daily position in 1049 days
Puzzles from this position
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to c5 (f2) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Winning blow: knight to d6 (c4) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Winning blow: king to b1 (c1·3) — Chess960 specifics · 970
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to c7 (c3·3) — Chess960 specifics · 1150
- Winning blow: bishop to d5 (f3·5) — Chess960 specifics · 1280
- Mate in 2: queen to a7 (a5·3) — Chess960 specifics · 1320
- Mate in 3: queen to d4 (e3) — Chess960 specifics · 1630
- Mate in 3: queen to f3 (h1) — Chess960 specifics · 1630
- Mate in 3: bishop to e3 (c1·2) — Chess960 specifics · 1760
- Winning blow: knight to e5 (f3·21) — Chess960 specifics · 2100
This position appears in course day 75
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Commentary
The king begins on b1, and short castling takes him five squares across the board to 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 on e1, the knights on f1 and h1 — the cornered one has g3 as its only move, and the rooks are on a1 and g1. The engine takes the centre with d4, and both sides then push a rook's pawn: d4 d5 a4 a5 f4 e6.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.