Starting position #897
Back-rank setup: BRKBQRNN
SP-897 · BastionScout — Off-centre king plus a rim knight (a/h): 168 positions carry this shape.
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 f1, the queen on e1.
The king already stands on c1, so castling long moves only the rook, from b1 to d1.
A bishop starts in the corner on a1: it has a single diagonal, which the b-pawn unlocks, running out to h8.
The second rank carries 3 pawns with no defender at all: a2, g2, h2.
The setup belongs to the BastionScout family; read right to left it becomes position 59.
The engine's main line opens with b4.
Every sentence here is computed from the setup itself and can be checked on the board.
Balance
MBI 16 Morozov Balance Index: 16 of 100 — class D — largest edge.
- Engine evaluation of the starting position: +39 centipawns for White (depth 46, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 798 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): +45 → +24 → 0
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #59
- The king starts on c, the rooks on b and f
- King and rook are neighbours — castling from adjacent squares feels unusual
- It becomes the daily position in 1389 days
Puzzles from this position
- Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to e5 (f4·4) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: knight to e3 (f5) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to f2 (e1·3) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Winning blow: bishop to g4 (d1·3) — Chess960 specifics · 970
- Winning blow: queen to f1 (e2·2) — Chess960 specifics · 1200
- Winning blow: queen to c7 (c3·4) — Chess960 specifics · 1200
- Mate in 2: bishop to b7 — Chess960 specifics · 1320
- Winning blow: rook to b3 (b1·2) — Chess960 specifics · 1610
- Winning blow: knight to a7 (b5·4) — Chess960 specifics · 1870
- Winning blow: rook to e1 (b1·5) — Chess960 specifics · 2060
This position appears in course day 31
In your browser or in the Android app. Nothing to install · Free, no ads
Commentary
The king already stands on c1 and the rook already occupies f1, so each castling sends a single piece — the rook one way, the king the other. A bishop holds the corner on a1 with one diagonal to h8; the second bishop is on d1, running to a4 on one side and h5 on the other. Three pawns begin without a defender: a2, g2 and h2. The queen is on e1, the knights on g1 and h1 — the cornered one has g3 as its only move, and the second rook is on b1. White's edge is +39 centipawns: b4 e5 f4 b6 e4 f6.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.