Starting position #854
Back-rank setup: RKBNRBNQ
SP-854 · RampartGuard — A b- or g-file king and two knights on inner files (b–g).
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 e1, the queen on h1.
From b1 the king makes the longest journey Chess960 allows when castling short: five squares to g1.
The bishops stand on c1 and f1; their long diagonals reach h6 and a6 once the d- and e-pawns step aside.
The pawn on 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 102.
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 51 Morozov Balance Index: 51 of 100 — class C — noticeable edge.
- Engine evaluation of the starting position: +26 centipawns for White (depth 45, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 454 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): +39 → +13 → +12 → 0
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #102
- The king starts on b, the rooks on a and e
- King and rook are neighbours — castling from adjacent squares feels unusual
- It becomes the daily position in 1339 days
Puzzles from this position
- Winning blow: knight to b5 (c3·2) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Winning blow: knight to c6 (e5) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Winning blow: king to a2 (b1·17) — Chess960 specifics · 970
- Winning blow: rook to e7 (f7·3) — Chess960 specifics · 1200
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to a7 (g1·6) — Chess960 specifics · 1320
- Winning blow: rook to e8 (e4·6) — Chess960 specifics · 1470
- Mate in 2: rook to b2 (a2) — Chess960 specifics · 1630
- Mate in 3: rook to b7 (e7) — Chess960 specifics · 1630
- Winning blow: pawn to a5 (a4·3) — Chess960 specifics · 1890
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to c6 (h1·10) — Chess960 specifics · 2400
This position appears in course day 274
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Commentary
The king begins on b1, and short castling takes him five squares across the board to g1. The queen begins in the corner on h1, and the rooks are on a1 and e1. The bishops are on c1 and f1, one on each colour. On the second rank, c2 leans on the king alone; no other second-rank pawn starts short of a defender. The knights are on d1 and g1. The engine takes the centre with e4, and White's edge is +26 centipawns: e4 e5 a4 a5 Bc4 f5.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.