Starting position #908
Back-rank setup: RBKQRNBN
SP-908 · 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 a1 and e1, the queen on d1.
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.
One second-rank pawn starts with no defender at all: g2.
The setup belongs to the BastionScout family; read right to left it becomes position 60.
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 44, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 848 of 960 by balance — 1 is the most balanced start.
- Balance band L — large edge · dynamics along the play-out: equalizing
- Evaluation along the engine's main line (60 half-moves): +52 → +19 → -19 → -6
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #60
- The king starts on c, the rooks on a and e
- This position does not come up as the daily position in the next four years
Puzzles from this position
- Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to f4 (e3·6) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: knight to e8 (g7) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: knight to d6 (f5·10) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Winning blow: king to h1 (g1·2) — Chess960 specifics · 970
- Winning blow: pawn to d3 (d2·2) — Chess960 specifics · 970
- Mate in 2: queen to f6 (e6) — Chess960 specifics · 1220
- Winning blow: bishop to f5 (e6·2) — Chess960 specifics · 1470
- Winning blow: rook to f1 (e1·5) — Chess960 specifics · 1560
- Mate in 2: queen to a7 (e3·3) — Chess960 specifics · 1670
- Winning blow: pawn to b5 (b4·9) — Chess960 specifics · 2060
This position appears in course day 20
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Commentary
The queen keeps her classical square d1, but the king stands to her left, on c1, so long castling moves the rook alone; the rooks are on a1 and e1. The bishops are on b1 and g1, one on each colour. On the second rank, g2 begins without a defender, and the pawn on b2 leans on the king alone. The knights are on f1 and h1 — both can reach g3, so a knight move there has to name its file. White's edge here is a wide one, +42 centipawns, and the engine pushes the f-pawn twice before touching anything else: f4 c6 f5 e6 e4 f6.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.