Starting position #817
Back-rank setup: BRKBNQRN
SP-817 · BastionScout — A c- or f-file king with at least one knight out on the edge.
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 b1 and g1, the queen on f1.
The king already stands on c1, so castling long moves only the rook, from b1 to d1.
A bishop starts in the corner on a1: it has a single diagonal, which the b-pawn unlocks, running out to h8.
The second rank carries 2 pawns with no defender at all: a2, h2.
The setup belongs to the BastionScout family; read right to left it becomes position 139.
The engine's main line opens with e3.
Every sentence here is computed from the setup itself and can be checked on the board.
Balance
MBI 34 Morozov Balance Index: 34 of 100 — class C — noticeable edge.
- Engine evaluation of the starting position: +31 centipawns for White (depth 45, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 625 of 960 by balance — 1 is the most balanced start.
- Balance band M — moderate edge · dynamics along the play-out: stable
- Evaluation along the engine's main line (60 half-moves): +24 → +11 → 0
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #139
- The king starts on c, the rooks on b and g
- King and rook are neighbours — castling from adjacent squares feels unusual
- It becomes the daily position in 172 days
Puzzles from this position
- Attack on the uncastled king: bishop to h7 (d3) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: rook to b7 — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Winning blow: knight to e7 (c6·2) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Winning blow: king to b2 (b1·6) — Chess960 specifics · 970
- Attack on the uncastled king: bishop to a6 (e2·5) — Chess960 specifics · 1110
- Mate in 2: bishop to b5 (e2) — Chess960 specifics · 1220
- Winning blow: pawn to f6 (g5·16) — Chess960 specifics · 1420
- Mate in 3: rook to d8 (d7) — Chess960 specifics · 1630
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to c5 (c4·2) — Chess960 specifics · 1630
- Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to c7 (b6·6) — Chess960 specifics · 2150
This position appears in course day 77
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Commentary
The king already stands on c1, so long castling moves the rook alone; the rooks are on b1 and g1. A bishop holds the corner on a1 with one diagonal to h8; the second bishop is on d1, running to a4 on one side and h5 on the other. Two pawns begin without a defender, a2 and h2, and the pawn on d2 leans on the king alone. The queen is on f1, the knights on e1 and h1 — the cornered one has g3 as its only move. White's edge is +31 centipawns: e3 g5 g4 Ng6 Ng3 e6.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.