Starting position #843
Back-rank setup: RKNRBQNB
SP-843 · RampartGuard — King pushed to the b- or g-file, knights off the edges — 144 positions here.
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 f1.
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 113.
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 40 Morozov Balance Index: 40 of 100 — class C — noticeable edge.
- Engine evaluation of the starting position: +29 centipawns for White (depth 46, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 562 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): +28 → +41 → +26 → +6
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #113
- 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 94 days
Puzzles from this position
- Winning blow: knight to c4 (b6) — Chess960 specifics · 1010
- Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to c4 (c2) — Chess960 specifics · 1110
- Winning blow: queen to e4 (f3) — Chess960 specifics · 1200
- Winning blow: queen to a8 (a7·10) — Chess960 specifics · 1280
- Mate in 2: queen to a8 (a4) — Chess960 specifics · 1320
- Attack on the uncastled king: knight to e5 (f3·20) — Chess960 specifics · 1560
- Winning blow: queen to d1 (d2·2) — Chess960 specifics · 1610
- Mate in 3: queen to a8 (a6·2) — Chess960 specifics · 1760
- Winning blow: queen to f6 (d4·6) — Chess960 specifics · 2100
- Chess960 tactic on d5 (f3) — Chess960 specifics · 2400
This position appears in course day 276
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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. A bishop holds the corner on h1 with one diagonal to a8; the second bishop is on e1. On the second rank, h2 begins without a defender, and the pawns on b2 and c2 lean on the king alone. The queen is on f1, the knights on c1 and g1, and White's edge is +29 centipawns: a4 a5 e4 g5 d4 d5.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.