Starting position #806
Back-rank setup: RKBQNBRN
SP-806 · RampartScout — The king starts on b or g while a knight begins on the a- or h-file — the smallest family.
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 d1.
From b1 the king makes the longest journey Chess960 allows when castling short: five squares to g1.
The bishops stand on c1 and f1; their long diagonals reach h6 and a6 once the d- and e-pawns step aside.
One second-rank pawn starts with no defender at all: h2.
The setup belongs to the RampartScout family; read right to left it becomes position 150.
The engine's main line opens with a4.
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 44, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 498 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): +13 → +37 → -16 → -46
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #150
- 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 424 days
Puzzles from this position
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to g4 (d1·4) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Winning blow: rook to a4 (c4) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Winning blow: knight to b8 (d7·4) — Chess960 specifics · 1200
- Winning blow: king to a4 (a3) — Chess960 specifics · 1200
- Winning blow: king to a2 (b1·27) — Chess960 specifics · 1250
- Mate in 2: queen to a7 (a3) — Chess960 specifics · 1450
- Winning blow: queen to f7 (f3·7) — Chess960 specifics · 1610
- Attack on the uncastled king: knight to c6 (d4·25) — Chess960 specifics · 1790
- Mate in 3: rook to d6 (e6) — Chess960 specifics · 1980
- Chess960 tactic on d5 (f6) — Chess960 specifics · 2400
This position appears in course day 236
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Commentary
The king begins on b1, and short castling takes him five squares across the board to g1. The queen keeps her classical square d1 even though the king has left the centre, and the rooks are on a1 and g1. The bishops are on c1 and f1, one on each colour. On the second rank, h2 is the one that begins without a defender. The knights are on e1 and h1 — the cornered one has g3 as its only move. The engine opens on the wing with a4: a4 a5 e4 e5 d4 exd4.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.