Starting position #878
Back-rank setup: QRKRNBBN
SP-878 · BastionScout — The king starts one file off-centre, on c or f, and a knight begins 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 c1, the rooks on b1 and d1, the queen on a1.
The king already stands on c1, so castling long moves only the rook, from b1 to d1.
The bishops stand on f1 and g1; their long diagonals reach a6 and a7 once the e- and f-pawns step aside.
Every pawn on the second rank is defended from the very first move.
The setup belongs to the BastionScout family; read right to left it becomes position 84.
The engine's main line opens with f4.
Every sentence here is computed from the setup itself and can be checked on the board.
Balance
MBI 11 Morozov Balance Index: 11 of 100 — class D — largest edge.
- Engine evaluation of the starting position: +42 centipawns for White (depth 47, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 851 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 (60 half-moves): +36 → +11 → 0
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #84
- The king starts on c, the rooks on b and d
- King and rook are neighbours — castling from adjacent squares feels unusual
- It becomes the daily position in 427 days
Puzzles from this position
- Attack on the uncastled king: bishop to a7 (g1) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Winning blow: pawn to c5 (d4·7) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to f4 (f2·2) — Chess960 specifics · 970
- Attack on the uncastled king: bishop to a7 (g1·3) — Chess960 specifics · 1060
- Winning blow: king to g1 (f2·7) — Chess960 specifics · 1110
- Winning blow: knight to d6 (f5·15) — Chess960 specifics · 1280
- Mate in 2: rook to d7 (d1·7) — Chess960 specifics · 1630
- Mate in 2: queen to e7 (a3) — Chess960 specifics · 1670
- Winning blow: queen to c6 (e8·4) — Chess960 specifics · 1790
- Winning blow: rook to d6 (d1·28) — Chess960 specifics · 2100
This position appears in course day 108
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Commentary
The king already stands on c1, so long castling moves the rook alone; the rooks are on b1 and d1. The bishops stand side by side on f1 and g1, one on each colour. Every pawn on the second rank begins with a defender — this setup concedes nothing on move one. The queen begins in the far corner on a1, the knights on e1 and h1 — the cornered one has g3 as its only move. White's edge here is a wide one, +42 centipawns, and the engine opens on the flank with f4: f4 a5 e4 f6 Nf3 Ng6.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.