Starting position #943
Back-rank setup: RKRNQNBB
SP-943 · RampartGuard — The king starts out on a wing file, b or g, with neither knight in a corner.
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.
A bishop starts in the corner on h1: it has a single diagonal, which the g-pawn unlocks, running out to a8.
Every pawn on the second rank is defended from the very first move.
The setup belongs to the RampartGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 16.
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 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 654 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): +44 → +21 → 0
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #16
- 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 412 days
Puzzles from this position
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to d8 (e8) — Chess960 specifics · 780
- Winning blow: knight to c6 (e7·2) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Winning blow: bishop to c5 (g1·7) — Chess960 specifics · 1060
- Winning blow: bishop to h5 (f3·3) — Chess960 specifics · 1200
- Mate in 2: queen to b8 (b7·3) — Chess960 specifics · 1320
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to b6 (e3·3) — Chess960 specifics · 1320
- Winning blow: knight to b6 (a4·2) — Chess960 specifics · 1430
- Mate in 3: knight to d6 — Chess960 specifics · 1630
- Mate in 3: rook to a6 (a3) — Chess960 specifics · 1990
- Chess960 tactic on b1 (a1) — Chess960 specifics · 2400
This position appears in course day 134
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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 sit together at the edge, on g1 and h1, and the cornered one has a single diagonal to a8. Every pawn on the second rank begins with a defender — this setup concedes nothing on move one. The queen is on e1, the knights on d1 and f1 — both can reach e3, so a knight move there has to name its file. White's edge is +32 centipawns: a4 a5 e4 e5 g3 Nc6.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.