Starting position #925
Back-rank setup: RKRBQNBN
SP-925 · RampartScout — A wing-file king (b or g) and at least one corner knight: the rarest of the six families, just 72 positions.
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 c1, the queen on e1.
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 40.
The engine's main line opens with a4.
Every sentence here is computed from the setup itself and can be checked on the board.
Balance
MBI 43 Morozov Balance Index: 43 of 100 — class C — noticeable edge.
- Engine evaluation of the starting position: +28 centipawns for White (depth 49, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 532 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 (52 half-moves): +24 → +18 → +1 → 0
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #40
- The king starts on b, the rooks on a and c
- King and rook are neighbours — castling from adjacent squares feels unusual
- It becomes the daily position in 1026 days
Puzzles from this position
- Attack on the uncastled king: king to b2 — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to g2 (e4) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: bishop to e8 (c6·2) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Winning blow: queen to b2 (d2) — Chess960 specifics · 1010
- Winning blow: rook to e3 (f3) — Chess960 specifics · 1280
- Attack on the uncastled king: knight to c6 (d4·15) — Chess960 specifics · 1320
- Winning blow: queen to c5 (b4·4) — Chess960 specifics · 1510
- Mate in 3: queen to c6 (b5) — Chess960 specifics · 1630
- Mate in 3: rook to c8 (f8·3) — Chess960 specifics · 1980
- Chess960 tactic on a5 (d2) — Chess960 specifics · 2400
This position appears in course day 46
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Commentary
The king begins on b1 with a rook on either side of him, on a1 and c1, and short castling takes him five squares across the board to g1. The bishops are on d1 and g1, one on each colour. The pawn on g2 begins without a defender, and the pawn on b2 leans on the king alone. The queen is on e1, the knights on f1 and h1 — both can reach g3, so the fifth half-move carries a letter. The search ran to depth 49 and calls it +28 centipawns: a4 a5 f4 f5 Nhg3 Nhg6.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.