Starting position #829
Back-rank setup: RKNBQRBN
SP-829 · RampartScout — A wing-file king (b or g) and at least one corner knight: the rarest of the six families, just 72 positions.
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 e1.
From b1 the king makes the longest journey Chess960 allows when castling short: five squares to g1.
The bishops stand on d1 and g1; their long diagonals reach h5 and a7 once the e- and f-pawns step aside.
One second-rank pawn starts with no defender at all: g2.
The setup belongs to the RampartScout family; read right to left it becomes position 136.
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 24 Morozov Balance Index: 24 of 100 — class D — largest edge.
- Engine evaluation of the starting position: +35 centipawns for White (depth 47, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 721 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 (53 half-moves): +30 → +4 → 0
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #136
- The king starts on b, the rooks on a and f
- King and rook are neighbours — castling from adjacent squares feels unusual
- It becomes the daily position in 242 days
Puzzles from this position
- Winning blow: pawn to f4 (g3) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: knight to f1 (g3·2) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to e4 (e1·6) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Winning blow: king to c2 (b1·6) — Chess960 specifics · 970
- Winning blow: rook to c5 (c1·10) — Chess960 specifics · 1200
- Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to f3 (f2·4) — Chess960 specifics · 1250
- Attack on the uncastled king: knight to g7 (f5·26) — Chess960 specifics · 1610
- Mate in 3: bishop to d4 (g1) — Chess960 specifics · 1630
- Winning blow: queen to d6 (b4·10) — Chess960 specifics · 1870
- Winning blow: pawn to f8 (f7·13) — Chess960 specifics · 2340
This position appears in course day 57
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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 h1 — the first right beside the king, the cornered one with g3 as its only move. The bishops are on d1 and g1, one on each colour. The pawn on g2 begins without a defender, and the pawn on b2 leans on the king alone. The queen is on e1, the second rook on a1, and White's edge is +35 centipawns: f4 f6 a4 a5 f5 e5.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.