Starting position #842
Back-rank setup: RKNRBBQN
SP-842 · RampartScout — The king starts on b or g while a knight begins on the a- or h-file — the smallest family.
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 d1, the queen on g1.
From b1 the king makes the longest journey Chess960 allows when castling short: five squares to g1.
The bishops stand on e1 and f1; their long diagonals reach a5 and a6 once the d- and e-pawns step aside.
The pawn on b2, c2 is defended by the king alone — the same soft spot f2 is in the classical setup.
The setup belongs to the RampartScout family; read right to left it becomes position 117.
The engine's main line opens with a4.
Every sentence here is computed from the setup itself and can be checked on the board.
Balance
MBI 21 Morozov Balance Index: 21 of 100 — class D — largest edge.
- Engine evaluation of the starting position: +36 centipawns for White (depth 47, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 746 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): +30 → 0 → 0
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #117
- The king starts on b, the rooks on a and d
- King and rook are neighbours — castling from adjacent squares feels unusual
- It becomes the daily position in 188 days
Puzzles from this position
- Winning blow: bishop to d1 — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to g4 (g3) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Winning blow: pawn to a5 (b4) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Attack on the uncastled king: bishop to h4 (e1·8) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Winning blow: knight to c6 (d4·7) — Chess960 specifics · 1060
- Winning blow: queen to d7 (e7) — Chess960 specifics · 1290
- Mate in 3: pawn to b8 — Chess960 specifics · 1630
- Mate in 3: queen to f3 (g2) — Chess960 specifics · 1630
- Mate in 3: rook to e7 (h7) — Chess960 specifics · 1760
- Chess960 tactic on d2 (d1·3) — Chess960 specifics · 2400
This position appears in course day 25
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Commentary
The king begins on b1, and short castling takes him five squares across the board to g1. A rook occupies d1, the square a classical setup keeps for the queen, and the second rook stands in the corner on a1. The knights are on c1 and h1 — the first right beside the king, the cornered one with g3 as its only move. The bishops stand side by side on e1 and f1, one on each colour. The pawns on b2 and c2 lean on the king alone; the other six start with a defender. The queen is on g1, and White's edge here is a wide one, +36 centipawns: a4 a5 f3 d5 d4 f6.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.