Starting position #957
Back-rank setup: RKRBNNBQ
SP-957 · RampartGuard — King pushed to the b- or g-file, knights off the edges — 144 positions here.
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 h1.
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.
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 RampartGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 8.
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 21 Morozov Balance Index: 21 of 100 — class D — largest edge.
- Engine evaluation of the starting position: +36 centipawns for White (depth 44, 400 000 000 nodes).
- Rank 744 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): +56 → +25 → +12 → 0
Position facts
- Mirror twin: position #8
- 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 524 days
Puzzles from this position
- Attack on the uncastled king: queen to d8 — Chess960 specifics · 620
- Mate in 1: queen to c7 — Chess960 specifics · 850
- Winning blow: knight to d7 (e5·4) — Chess960 specifics · 920
- Winning blow: queen to d7 (d3·2) — Chess960 specifics · 1060
- Attack on the uncastled king: knight to g6 (f4·5) — Chess960 specifics · 1150
- Mate in 2: queen to b6 (b5) — Chess960 specifics · 1220
- Mate in 2: queen to b5 (b8) — Chess960 specifics · 1320
- Winning blow: queen to e7 (e5·4) — Chess960 specifics · 1560
- Mate in 3: knight to b6 (d5) — Chess960 specifics · 1760
- Mate in 3: queen to d6 (d5·3) — Chess960 specifics · 1980
This position appears in course day 5
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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 begins in the corner on h1. The bishops are on d1 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 f1, standing shoulder to shoulder. White's edge here is a wide one, +36 centipawns, and the line answers move for move: a4 a5 e4 e5 g3 g6.
Written from the measured facts above and checked against the board before publishing. All 960 positions have one.