Starting position #860
Back-rank setup: RBKNRNBQ
SP-860 · BastionGuard — A c- or f-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 c1, the rooks on a1 and e1, the queen on h1.
The king already stands on c1, so castling long moves only the rook, from a1 to d1.
The bishops stand on b1 and g1; their long diagonals reach h7 and a7 once the c- and f-pawns step aside.
Every pawn on the second rank is defended from the very first move.
The setup belongs to the BastionGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 108.
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 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 592 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): +27 → 0 → +15 → 0
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #108
- The king starts on c, the rooks on a and e
- It becomes the daily position in 658 days
Puzzles from this position
- Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to e5 (f4·5) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to e5 (f4·61) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: knight to d6 (e8) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Winning blow: queen to d7 (b5) — Chess960 specifics · 1010
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to c3 (g3) — Chess960 specifics · 1200
- Winning blow: queen to d8 (d6·2) — Chess960 specifics · 1200
- Winning blow: rook to e3 (c3) — Chess960 specifics · 1250
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to e8 (e4·3) — Chess960 specifics · 1320
- Mate in 3: rook to e6 (e4) — Chess960 specifics · 1630
- Mate in 3: queen to b8 (b6·2) — Chess960 specifics · 2210
This position appears in course day 40
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Commentary
The king already stands on c1, so long castling moves the rook alone; the rooks are on a1 and e1. The queen begins in the corner on h1. The bishops are on b1 and g1, one on each colour. Every pawn on the second rank begins with a defender — this setup concedes nothing on move one. The knights are on d1 and f1 — both can reach e3, so a knight move there has to name its file. The engine takes the centre with e4, and White's edge is +30 centipawns: e4 e5 a4 a5 g3 f6.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.