Starting position #847
Back-rank setup: RKNRQNBB
SP-847 · RampartGuard — The king starts out on a wing file, b or g, with neither knight 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 b1, the rooks on a1 and d1, the queen on e1.
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.
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 RampartGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 112.
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 37 Morozov Balance Index: 37 of 100 — class C — noticeable edge.
- Engine evaluation of the starting position: +30 centipawns for White (depth 46, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 593 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): +26 → +22 → +1 → 0
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #112
- 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 775 days
Puzzles from this position
- Winning blow: rook to a5 — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to f4 (e3·33) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Winning blow: bishop to f2 (g1·2) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Attack on the uncastled king: bishop to d4 (g1·8) — Chess960 specifics · 1060
- Attack on the uncastled king: bishop to e4 (d5·2) — Chess960 specifics · 1200
- Attack on the uncastled king: rook to b7 (b3·4) — Chess960 specifics · 1290
- Winning blow: rook to a6 (a8) — Chess960 specifics · 1610
- Mate in 3: queen to b5 (d3·2) — Chess960 specifics · 1760
- Mate in 3: queen to c5 (f8·5) — Chess960 specifics · 1980
- Chess960 tactic on d6 (c4·2) — Chess960 specifics · 2400
This position appears in course day 25
In your browser or in the Android app. Nothing to install · Free, no ads
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 bishops sit together at the edge, on g1 and h1, and the cornered one has a single diagonal to a8. The pawns on b2 and c2 lean on the king alone; the other six start with a defender. The queen is on e1, the knights on c1 and f1, and White's edge is +30 centipawns: a4 a5 e4 e5 g3 f5.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.