Starting position #894
Back-rank setup: RQKRNBBN
SP-894 · BastionScout — King off-centre on c or f with a knight starting on the rim (a/h).
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 d1, the queen on b1.
The king already stands on c1, so castling long moves only the rook, from a1 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 68.
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 51 Morozov Balance Index: 51 of 100 — class C — noticeable edge.
- Engine evaluation of the starting position: +26 centipawns for White (depth 44, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 451 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): +19 → 0 → 0
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #68
- The king starts on c, the rooks on a and d
- King and rook are neighbours — castling from adjacent squares feels unusual
- It becomes the daily position in 519 days
Puzzles from this position
- Attack on the uncastled king: bishop to f5 (d3·5) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Winning blow: queen to d5 (b3) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Winning blow: bishop to e5 (g3·3) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Winning blow: king to b1 (a2) — Chess960 specifics · 970
- Winning blow: pawn to d6 (d5·4) — Chess960 specifics · 1110
- Winning blow: rook to d2 (d1·12) — Chess960 specifics · 1290
- Mate in 2: queen to d8 (d1·2) — Chess960 specifics · 1450
- Mate in 3: bishop to c6 (g2) — Chess960 specifics · 1630
- Winning blow: rook to d5 (d1·21) — Chess960 specifics · 1870
- Chess960 tactic on a8 (a4) — Chess960 specifics · 2120
This position appears in course day 28
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Commentary
The king already stands on c1, so long castling moves the rook alone; the rooks are on a1 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 stands on b1, right beside the king, and the knights are on e1 and h1 — the cornered one has g3 as its only move. The engine takes the centre with e4, and White's edge is +26 centipawns: e4 f6 a4 e5 a5 c5.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.