Starting position #827
Back-rank setup: RKNQBRNB
SP-827 · RampartGuard — A wing king (b/g) with no knight on the a- or h-file.
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 f1, the queen on d1.
From b1 the king makes the longest journey Chess960 allows when castling short: five squares to g1.
A bishop starts in the corner on h1: it has a single diagonal, which the g-pawn unlocks, running out to a8.
One second-rank pawn starts with no defender at all: h2.
The setup belongs to the RampartGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 129.
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 26 Morozov Balance Index: 26 of 100 — class C — noticeable edge.
- Engine evaluation of the starting position: +34 centipawns for White (depth 44, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 701 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): +25 → +21 → +9 → 0
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #129
- The king starts on b, the rooks on a and f
- King and rook are neighbours — castling from adjacent squares feels unusual
- This position does not come up as the daily position in the next four years
Puzzles from this position
- Attack on the uncastled king: bishop to a5 (e1·3) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to e5 (f4·35) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Winning blow: queen to e3 (e8) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Winning blow: queen to f7 (d7·2) — Chess960 specifics · 1010
- Winning blow: knight to c6 (e5·15) — Chess960 specifics · 1200
- Attack on the uncastled king: rook to a8 (a4·2) — Chess960 specifics · 1290
- Mate in 2: queen to e8 (e6·3) — Chess960 specifics · 1320
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to b2 (c1·3) — Chess960 specifics · 1620
- Winning blow: queen to c8 (c7·3) — Chess960 specifics · 1870
- Winning blow: pawn to e5 (e4·9) — Chess960 specifics · 2060
This position appears in course day 108
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Commentary
The king begins on b1, and the rook already occupies f1, so short castling is a solo five-square walk to g1. The knights are on c1 and g1 — the first right beside the king. The queen keeps her classical square d1 even though the king has left the centre, and the second rook is on a1. A bishop holds the corner on h1 with one diagonal to a8; the second bishop is on e1. Among the pawns, h2 begins without a defender, and the pawn on b2 leans on the king alone. The engine takes the centre with e4, and White's edge is +34 centipawns: e4 g5 a4 a5 d4 Nb6.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.