Starting position #862
Back-rank setup: RKNRNBBQ
SP-862 · RampartGuard — Both knights begin on inner files while the king sits on the wing (b/g); mirror twins stay together in this family.
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 f1 and g1; their long diagonals reach a6 and a7 once the e- and f-pawns step aside.
The pawn on b2 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 100.
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 7 Morozov Balance Index: 7 of 100 — class D — largest edge.
- Engine evaluation of the starting position: +46 centipawns for White (depth 46, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 887 of 960 by balance — 1 is the most balanced start.
- Balance band L — large edge · dynamics along the play-out: stable
- Evaluation along the engine's main line (57 half-moves): +35 → +33 → 0
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #100
- 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 1036 days
Puzzles from this position
- Attack on the uncastled king: rook to e2 (e1·2) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Winning blow: rook to a8 (e8) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Attack on the uncastled king: bishop to b7 (d5) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to c8 (d7) — Chess960 specifics · 1010
- Attack on the uncastled king: knight to f6 (h5·4) — Chess960 specifics · 1200
- Winning blow: bishop to c6 (g2·6) — Chess960 specifics · 1430
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to b7 (f3·5) — Chess960 specifics · 1450
- Mate in 3: queen to e1 — Chess960 specifics · 1630
- Mate in 3: rook to c6 (d6·3) — Chess960 specifics · 1760
- Chess960 tactic on b6 — Chess960 specifics · 2120
This position appears in course day 168
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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, while the queen herself begins in the corner on h1; the second rook is on a1. The bishops stand side by side on f1 and g1, one on each colour. Among the pawns, b2 leans on the king alone; no other second-rank pawn starts short of a defender. The knights are on c1 and e1 — both can reach d3, so a knight move there has to name its file. White's edge here is a wide one, +46 centipawns: a4 a5 e4 e5 g3 f6.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.