Starting position #812
Back-rank setup: RBKQNRBN
SP-812 · BastionScout — The king starts one file off-centre, on c or f, and a knight begins 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 f1, the queen on d1.
The king already stands on c1, so castling long moves only the rook, from a1 to d1.
The bishops stand on b1 and g1; their long diagonals reach h7 and a7 once the c- and f-pawns step aside.
The pawn on b2 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 156.
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 40 Morozov Balance Index: 40 of 100 — class C — noticeable edge.
- Engine evaluation of the starting position: +29 centipawns for White (depth 47, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 563 of 960 by balance — 1 is the most balanced start.
- Balance band M — moderate edge · dynamics along the play-out: equalizing
- Evaluation along the engine's main line (60 half-moves): +16 → +16 → 0
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #156
- The king starts on c, the rooks on a and f
- It becomes the daily position in 750 days
Puzzles from this position
- Attack on the uncastled king: rook to f8 (f2) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: king to d2 (c1·4) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Winning blow: king to c2 (b1·3) — Chess960 specifics · 970
- Winning blow: king to b2 (c3) — Chess960 specifics · 970
- Winning blow: bishop to c2 (d1) — Chess960 specifics · 970
- Winning blow: pawn to f5 (e4·14) — Chess960 specifics · 1200
- Winning blow: rook to d4 (a4·2) — Chess960 specifics · 1470
- Mate in 3: queen to d8 (g8) — Chess960 specifics · 1630
- Winning blow: bishop to f4 (e3·5) — Chess960 specifics · 1870
- Winning blow: queen to e7 (e6·12) — Chess960 specifics · 2120
This position appears in course day 172
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Commentary
The queen keeps her classical square d1, and the king stands on c1, so long castling moves the rook alone; the rook already occupies f1, which leaves short castling to the king alone. The bishops are on b1 and g1, one on each colour. On the second rank, b2 leans on the king alone; no other second-rank pawn starts short of a defender. The knights are on e1 and h1 — the cornered one has g3 as its only move, and the second rook is on a1. The engine takes the centre with e4, and the line ends with two captures: e4 c6 f4 f5 exf5 Rxf5.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.