Starting position #858
Back-rank setup: RKNRBBNQ
SP-858 · RampartGuard — King on the wing (b/g) with both knights on inner files.
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 h1.
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 RampartGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 101.
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 24 Morozov Balance Index: 24 of 100 — class D — largest edge.
- Engine evaluation of the starting position: +35 centipawns for White (depth 44, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 719 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 (52 half-moves): +38 → +22 → 0
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #101
- The king starts on b, the rooks on a and d
- King and rook are neighbours — castling from adjacent squares feels unusual
- This position does not come up as the daily position in the next four years
Puzzles from this position
- Winning blow: king to b2 (b1) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Winning blow: knight to c6 (b4) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to e7 (f7) — Chess960 specifics · 970
- Winning blow: knight to d6 (f5·12) — Chess960 specifics · 1150
- Winning blow: rook to b8 (b3·3) — Chess960 specifics · 1150
- Winning blow: knight to c6 (d4·9) — Chess960 specifics · 1200
- Winning blow: knight to d6 (b5·13) — Chess960 specifics · 1280
- Mate in 2: queen to d6 (b6·3) — Chess960 specifics · 1320
- Winning blow: rook to c4 (c1·6) — Chess960 specifics · 1870
- Winning blow: knight to d7 (e5·20) — Chess960 specifics · 1870
This position appears in course day 161
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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, the second rook stands in the corner on a1, and the queen herself begins in the opposite corner, on h1. The knights are on c1 and g1 — the first right beside the king. 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 engine takes the centre with e4, and White's edge is +35 centipawns: e4 a5 a4 g5 d4 e6.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.