Starting position #926
Back-rank setup: RKRQNBBN
SP-926 · RampartScout — The king starts on b or g while a knight begins on the a- or h-file — the smallest family.
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 d1.
From b1 the king makes the longest journey Chess960 allows when castling short: five squares to g1.
The bishops stand on f1 and g1; their long diagonals reach a6 and a7 once the e- and f-pawns step aside.
The pawn on b2 is defended by the king alone — the same soft spot f2 is in the classical setup.
The setup belongs to the RampartScout family; read right to left it becomes position 36.
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 51 Morozov Balance Index: 51 of 100 — class C — noticeable edge.
- Engine evaluation of the starting position: +26 centipawns for White (depth 48, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 449 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 (56 half-moves): +34 → +12 → 0
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #36
- 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 794 days
Puzzles from this position
- Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to g3 (h2·5) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to d5 (e4·77) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Winning blow: queen to b3 (d1·2) — Chess960 specifics · 1060
- Mate in 2: rook to d8 (d1·6) — Chess960 specifics · 1220
- Winning blow: queen to b7 (a8·5) — Chess960 specifics · 1280
- Mate in 3: queen to g8 (c4) — Chess960 specifics · 1630
- Mate in 3: bishop to f8 (c5) — Chess960 specifics · 1630
- Mate in 3: rook to d4 (d1) — Chess960 specifics · 1630
- Winning blow: knight to c5 (d7·3) — Chess960 specifics · 1700
- Chess960 tactic on e5 (f5) — Chess960 specifics · 2120
This position appears in course day 71
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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 queen keeps her classical square d1 even though the king has left the centre. The bishops stand side by side on f1 and g1, one on each colour. On the second rank, b2 leans on the king alone; no other second-rank pawn starts short of a defender. The knights are on e1 and h1 — the cornered one has g3 as its only move. The engine takes the centre with e4, and White's edge is +26 centipawns: e4 Ng6 d4 d5 Ng3 f6.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.