Starting position #933
Back-rank setup: RKBBRNQN
SP-933 · 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 g1.
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.
Every pawn on the second rank is defended from the very first move.
The setup belongs to the RampartScout family; read right to left it becomes position 26.
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 31 Morozov Balance Index: 31 of 100 — class C — noticeable edge.
- Engine evaluation of the starting position: +32 centipawns for White (depth 45, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 655 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): +35 → +27 → +10 → 0
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #26
- 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 22 days
Puzzles from this position
- Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to f5 (g4) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Attack on the uncastled king: knight to d2 (f1) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Winning blow: rook to a7 (a5) — Chess960 specifics · 1010
- Winning blow: rook to a3 (b3) — Chess960 specifics · 1340
- Attack on the uncastled king: king to b1 (a2·3) — Chess960 specifics · 1390
- Winning blow: rook to g8 (g7·3) — Chess960 specifics · 1560
- Mate in 3: rook to a5 (e5) — Chess960 specifics · 1630
- Mate in 3: knight to c5 (d3·3) — Chess960 specifics · 1760
- Winning blow: rook to e7 (e1·29) — Chess960 specifics · 2060
- Winning blow: queen to g3 (e1·6) — Chess960 specifics · 2150
This position appears in course day 44
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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. Every pawn on the second rank begins with a defender — this setup concedes nothing on move one. The queen is on g1, the knights on f1 and h1 — both can reach g3, so a knight move there has to name its file, and the rooks are on a1 and e1. White's edge is +32 centipawns, and the engine opens on the flank with f4: f4 a5 a4 d5 g4 Nd7.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.