Starting position #824
Back-rank setup: RBKNBQRN
SP-824 · 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 g1, the queen on f1.
The king already stands on c1, so castling long moves only the rook, from a1 to d1.
The bishops stand on b1 and e1; their long diagonals reach h7 and a5 once the c- and d-pawns step aside.
One second-rank pawn starts with no defender at all: h2.
The setup belongs to the BastionScout family; read right to left it becomes position 141.
The engine's main line opens with f4.
Every sentence here is computed from the setup itself and can be checked on the board.
Balance
MBI 31 Morozov Balance Index: 31 of 100 — class C — noticeable edge.
- Engine evaluation of the starting position: +32 centipawns for White (depth 47, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 659 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): +55 → +51 → +31 → +29
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #141
- The king starts on c, the rooks on a and g
- This position does not come up as the daily position in the next four years
Puzzles from this position
- Attack on the uncastled king: knight to b2 (d1) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Winning blow: knight to d5 (e3·3) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to e8 (e2·3) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Attack on the uncastled king: knight to d6 (e4·12) — Chess960 specifics · 1060
- Winning blow: rook to e8 (e7·3) — Chess960 specifics · 1150
- Winning blow: knight to g4 (f2·3) — Chess960 specifics · 1280
- Winning blow: queen to d7 (d3·3) — Chess960 specifics · 1280
- Chess960 tactic on d8 (b8) — Chess960 specifics · 2350
- Chess960 tactic on d5 (d4·3) — Chess960 specifics · 2400
- Chess960 tactic on e5 (g3) — Chess960 specifics · 2400
This position appears in course day 275
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Commentary
The king already stands on c1, so long castling moves the rook alone; the rooks are on a1 and g1. The bishops are on b1 and e1, one on each colour. On the second rank, h2 is the one that begins without a defender. The queen is on f1, the knights on d1 and h1 — the cornered one has g3 as its only move. White's edge is +32 centipawns, and the engine opens on the flank with f4: f4 e6 c4 Ng6 Nc3 c5.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.