Starting position #917
Back-rank setup: RKBBRQNN
SP-917 · RampartScout — King on b or g with a knight already on the edge — the least common of the position families (72 in 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 f1.
From b1 the king makes the longest journey Chess960 allows when castling short: five squares to g1.
The bishops stand on c1 and d1; their long diagonals reach h6 and h5 once the d- and e-pawns step aside.
One second-rank pawn starts with no defender at all: h2.
The setup belongs to the RampartScout family; read right to left it becomes position 42.
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 28 Morozov Balance Index: 28 of 100 — class C — noticeable edge.
- Engine evaluation of the starting position: +33 centipawns for White (depth 48, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 683 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): +48 → +33 → +29 → 0
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #42
- The king starts on b, the rooks on a and e
- King and rook are neighbours — castling from adjacent squares feels unusual
- It becomes the daily position in 57 days
Puzzles from this position
- Attack on the uncastled king: bishop to f4 (c1·15) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Winning blow: knight to f5 (d4·2) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Winning blow: king to d2 (c1·11) — Chess960 specifics · 970
- Winning blow: king to g3 (f2·6) — Chess960 specifics · 1250
- Winning blow: rook to h1 (f1·6) — Chess960 specifics · 1280
- Attack on the uncastled king: bishop to d7 (g4·5) — Chess960 specifics · 1290
- Mate in 2: queen to b8 (b5·2) — Chess960 specifics · 1320
- Winning blow: king to c2 (c1·14) — Chess960 specifics · 1470
- Winning blow: king to c1 (b1·25) — Chess960 specifics · 1700
- Winning blow: queen to g4 (d1·5) — Chess960 specifics · 1870
This position appears in course day 201
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Commentary
The king begins on b1, and short castling takes him five squares across the board to g1. The bishops stand side by side on c1 and d1, one on each colour. Among the pawns, h2 is the one that begins without a defender. The queen is on f1, the knights on g1 and h1 — the cornered one has g3 as its only move, and the rooks are on a1 and e1. The engine takes the centre with e4, and White's edge is +33 centipawns: e4 e5 a4 Ng6 a5 a6.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.