Starting position #909
Back-rank setup: RKQBRNBN
SP-909 · RampartScout — Wing king plus a rim knight, and only 72 positions qualify — the rarest pattern of all.
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 e1, the queen on c1.
From b1 the king makes the longest journey Chess960 allows when castling short: five squares to g1.
The bishops stand on d1 and g1; their long diagonals reach h5 and a7 once the e- and f-pawns step aside.
One second-rank pawn starts with no defender at all: g2.
The setup belongs to the RampartScout family; read right to left it becomes position 56.
The engine's main line opens with d4, 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 34 Morozov Balance Index: 34 of 100 — class C — noticeable edge.
- Engine evaluation of the starting position: +31 centipawns for White (depth 45, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 623 of 960 by balance — 1 is the most balanced start.
- Balance band M — moderate edge · dynamics along the play-out: stable
- Evaluation along the engine's main line (60 half-moves): +34 → +59 → +47 → 0
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #56
- The king starts on b, the rooks on a and e
- King and rook are neighbours — castling from adjacent squares feels unusual
- This position does not come up as the daily position in the next four years
Puzzles from this position
- Attack on the uncastled king: rook to e8 (e1·2) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Winning blow: rook to e4 (e2) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Winning blow: knight to d6 (b5) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Attack on the uncastled king: knight to e7 (f5·13) — Chess960 specifics · 1060
- Winning blow: pawn to c3 (b2·13) — Chess960 specifics · 1060
- Mate in 2: queen to d8 (g5·2) — Chess960 specifics · 1090
- Attack on the uncastled king: rook to e2 (e1·4) — Chess960 specifics · 1250
- Castling-960 to the rescue on e1 (b1·2) — Castling-960 · 1470
- Mate in 3: queen to d3 — Chess960 specifics · 1630
- Chess960 tactic on d1 (e1) — Chess960 specifics · 2400
This position appears in course day 105
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Commentary
The king begins on b1, and short castling takes him five squares across the board to g1. The queen stands on c1, right beside the king, and the rooks are on a1 and e1. The bishops are on d1 and g1, one on each colour. On the second rank, g2 is the one that begins without a defender. The knights are on f1 and h1 — both can reach g3, so the third half-move carries a letter. The engine takes the centre with d4, and White's edge is +31 centipawns: d4 f5 Nhg3 d5 f3 e5.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.