Starting position #859
Back-rank setup: RKNRBNQB
SP-859 · 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 g1.
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 97.
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 51 Morozov Balance Index: 51 of 100 — class C — noticeable edge.
- Engine evaluation of the starting position: +26 centipawns for White (depth 43, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 452 of 960 by balance — 1 is the most balanced start.
- Balance band M — moderate edge · dynamics along the play-out: equalizing
- Evaluation along the engine's main line (60 half-moves): +43 → +30 → 0
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #97
- 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
- Attack on the uncastled king: rook to f7 — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Winning blow: king to a2 (a3) — Chess960 specifics · 970
- Winning blow: rook to d6 (d1·7) — Chess960 specifics · 1010
- Attack on the uncastled king: knight to d5 (e3·15) — Chess960 specifics · 1200
- Winning blow: king to c1 (b1·19) — Chess960 specifics · 1250
- Castling-960 to the rescue on a8 (b8·2) — Castling-960 · 1340
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to d1 (g1) — Chess960 specifics · 1630
- Attack on the uncastled king: bishop to b7 (d5·3) — Chess960 specifics · 1790
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to g2 (g1·10) — Chess960 specifics · 2060
- Attack on the uncastled king: knight to c6 (b4·11) — Chess960 specifics · 2350
This position appears in course day 80
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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. The pawns on b2 and c2 lean on the king alone; the other six start with a defender. The queen is on g1, the knights on c1 and f1, and White's edge is +26 centipawns — the line mirrors move for move: a4 a5 g4 g5 d4 d5.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.