Chess Notation

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Chess Notation

Notation is the key to publishing chess games.

Chess notation gives us the means to record chess games, to publish them, and to discuss specific positions on the chess board.
Algebraic notation

Algebraic notation is the most common notation in use. For the rows of the chess board it assigns the numbers '1' through '8' starting from the White side. For the columns of the board it uses the letters 'a' through 'h', left to right from the White side. The square at the intersection of a column and a row is identified by the letter for the column and the number for the row.
Here's a diagram showing the two character notation for each square on the board.

The square in the lower left is 'a1', while the square in the upper right is 'h8'. Note that the board is usually displayed with White at the bottom and Black at the top.
The pieces are identified by a single letter -- 'P' for Pawn, 'N' for Knight, 'R' for Rook, 'B' for Bishop, 'Q' for Queen, and 'K' for King. The letters are self-explanatory, except for the Knight, where 'N' avoids confusion with the King.
A move is a combination of the moving piece plus the square to which it is moving. The move 'Qe4' means that a Queen is moving to the square e4. By convention, the letter for the Pawn is always omitted. The move 'e4' means that a Pawn is moving to the square e4.
Figurine notation is a variant of algebraic notation where symbols are used to identify the piece being moved. Games published using figurine notation can be understood by anyone in any language.
The geometry of the chess board

Notation also allows us to speak generically about certain geometrical qualities of the board. Here are a few common examples.

Ranks and files are the correct technical terms for the rows and columns. We speak of the 1st rank and the a-file rather than the 1st row or the a-column.
The center consists of the four squares d4, d5, e4, and e5. Some writers speak of an 'extended center', which is the 4x4 square having c3 at the lower left and f6 at the upper right. In any case, the other squares are not considered to be part of the center.
The queenside and kingside are the halves of the board to the left and the right, again from White's point of view. The names correspond to the initial positions of the Queen and the King. Similarly, the White side and Black side are the lower and upper halves of the board facing each player.
The diagonals are often referred to by their starting and ending squares, from left to right. The 'a1 to h8' and 'a8 to h1' diagonals are the longest on the board, eight squares each.

Special moves

Some moves require special notation.

Castling is denoted by O-O for castling kingside and O-O-O for castling queenside. Some writers prefer 0-0 and 0-0-0, but this causes no confusion.
Pawn promotion is handled by adding the promoting piece to the move. The move 'e8Q' means that the Pawn is being promoted to a Queen. Some writers use 'e8/Q' or 'e8=Q', but this causes no confusion.
Ambiguous moves are moves where two pieces of the same type can move to the same square. Suppose, for example, that White's Knights can both move to f3. The move is rendered unambiguous by inserting the file of the moving piece immediately after the letter denoting the piece. Instead of 'Nf3', we write 'Ndf3' or 'Ngf3' to show which Knight is moving. Where the file is the same for both pieces, we use the rank. The notation 'R8a4' means that the Rook on the 8th rank is moving to a4 rather than, say, the Rook on the 1st rank.
A few other conventions are optional.

A capture is sometimes indicated by an 'x'. If a Bishop moves to b7 and captures a piece, this can be written as 'Bb7' or 'Bxb7'.
Check is often indicated by a '+'. If a Knight moves to f6 and gives check, this can be written 'Nf6+' or 'Nf6'.
The en passant (e.p.) Pawn move is occasionally written with a trailing 'e.p.' If a Pawn captures en passant on f6, it is usually written 'exf6', but 'exf6 e.p.' is also correct. If a Pawn capture is unambiguous, some writers will omit the rank. In the last example, 'ef' would be sufficient if there were no other possibility for an e-Pawn to capture an f-Pawn. This notational convenience can be used for all pawn captures; 'ef' could also mean 'exf4', if this is unambiguous.

This may all sound complicated, but it's really rather simple. Here is a partial game score showing the use of algebraic notation.
Descriptive notation

Almost all chess literature published today uses algebraic notation, but this was not always true. Many older books and magazines used descriptive notation, which makes it worth knowing.
There are two main differences between algebraic and descriptive notation. The first difference is that the files are named according to the piece on that file in the initial position. The second difference is that the squares have different notations from the White and Black sides. Here's a diagram.

In this diagram, the names of the squares as they are known from the White side are in BOLD type, and from the Black side are in NORMAL type. The square in the lower left is 'QR1' for White and 'QR8' for Black, where 'QR' means the 'Queen's Rook'. The square in the upper right is 'KR8' for White and 'KR1' for Black, where 'KR' means the 'King's Rook'.
As in algebraic notation, the move is a combination of the moving piece plus the square to which it is moving, separated by a dash ('-'). The move 'Q-K4' means that a Queen is moving to the square K4; 'Q-KR4' means that a Queen is moving to the square KR4. In the second example, if there is no possibility that the Queen can move to QR4, 'Q-R4' is sufficient. In older literature, 'Kt' is often used instead of 'N' to denote the Knight.
Descriptive notation is usually less compact than algebraic notation, but it does have a few advantages. For example, it is easier to refer to the symmetric qualities of the board. The phrase 'Rook's file' refers to both the 'QR' and 'KR' files. The phrase '7th rank' refers to the 7th rank for both White and Black from their respective sides of the board.

Castling is noted exactly as in algebraic notation, O-O and O-O-O.
Pawn promotion is similar. The move 'P-K8=Q' means that the Pawn is being promoted to a Queen.
Ambiguous moves are generally distinguished by indicating whether the queenside or kingside piece is moving. Instead of 'N-B3', we write 'QN-B3' or 'KN-B3' to show which Knight is moving. If it is no longer simple to determine whether a piece was initially on the queenside or kingside, the square from which the piece is moving can be entered, for example, 'N/2-K4' or 'R/QB3-K3'.
A capture is always indicated by an 'x', followed by the symbol of the piece being captured. The moves 'BxN', 'BxKN', or 'BxN/7' are all valid.
Check is always indicated by a '+' or by 'ch'. If a Knight moves to B6 and gives check, this can be written 'N-B6+', or 'N-B6ch'.
The e.p. move is always written with a trailing 'e.p.', for example, 'PxP e.p.' or 'KPxP e.p.'

Here is a partial game score using descriptive notation.

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Chess Notation
Notation is the key to publishing chess games.
Chess notation gives us the means to record chess games, to publish them, and to discuss specific positions on the chess board. Algebraic notation Algebraic notation is the most common notation in use. For the rows of the chess board it assigns the numbers '1' through '8' starting from the White side. For the columns of the board it uses the letters 'a' through 'h', left to right from the White side. The square at the intersection of a column and a row is identified by the letter for the column and the number for the row. Here's a diagram showing the two character notation for each square on the board. The square in the lower left is 'a1', while the square in the upper right is 'h8'. Note that the board is usually displayed with White at the bottom and Black at the top. The pieces are identified by a single letter -- 'P' for Pawn, 'N' for Knight, 'R' for Rook, 'B' for Bishop, 'Q' for Queen, and 'K' for King. The letters are self-explanatory, except for the Knight, where 'N' avoids confusion with the King. A move is a combination of the moving piece plus the square to which it is moving. The move 'Qe4' means that a Queen is moving to the square e4. By convention, the letter for the Pawn is always omitted. The move 'e4' means that a Pawn is moving to the square e4. Figurine notation is a variant of algebraic notation where symbols are used to identify the piece being moved. Games published using figurine notation can be understood by anyone in any language. The geometry of the chess board Notation also allows us to speak generically about certain geometrical qualities of the board. Here are a few common examples. Ranks and files are the correct technical terms for the rows and columns. We speak of the 1st rank and the a-file rather than the 1st row or the a-column. The center consists of the four squares d4, d5, e4, and e5. Some writers speak of an 'extended center', which is the 4x4 square having c3 at the lower left and f6 at the upper right. In any case, the other squares are not considered to be part of the center. The queenside and kingside are the halves of the board to the left and the right, again from White's point of view. The names correspond to the initial positions of the Queen and the King. Similarly, the White side and Black side are the lower and upper halves of the board facing each player. The diagonals are often referred to by their starting and ending squares, from left to right. The 'a1 to h8' and 'a8 to h1' diagonals are the longest on the board, eight squares each. Special moves Some moves require special notation. Castling is denoted by O-O for castling kingside and O-O-O for castling queenside. Some writers prefer 0-0 and 0-0-0, but this causes no confusion. Pawn promotion is handled by adding the promoting piece to the move. The move 'e8Q' means that the Pawn is being promoted to a Queen. Some writers use 'e8/Q' or 'e8=Q', but this causes no confusion. Ambiguous moves are moves where two pieces of the same type can move to the same square. Suppose, for example, that White's Knights can both move to f3. The move is rendered unambiguous by inserting the file of the moving piece immediately after the letter denoting the piece. Instead of 'Nf3', we write 'Ndf3' or 'Ngf3' to show which Knight is moving. Where the file is the same for both pieces, we use the rank. The notation 'R8a4' means that the Rook on the 8th rank is moving to a4 rather than, say, the Rook on the 1st rank. A few other conventions are optional. A capture is sometimes indicated by an 'x'. If a Bishop moves to b7 and captures a piece, this can be written as 'Bb7' or 'Bxb7'. Check is often indicated by a '+'. If a Knight moves to f6 and gives check, this can be written 'Nf6+' or 'Nf6'. The en passant (e.p.) Pawn move is occasionally written with a trailing 'e.p.' If a Pawn captures en passant on f6, it is usually written 'exf6', but 'exf6 e.p.' is also correct. If a Pawn capture is unambiguous, some writers will omit the rank. In the last example, 'ef' would be sufficient if there were no other possibility for an e-Pawn to capture an f-Pawn. This notational convenience can be used for all pawn captures; 'ef' could also mean 'exf4', if this is unambiguous. This may all sound complicated, but it's really rather simple. Here is a partial game score showing the use of algebraic notation. Descriptive notation Almost all chess literature published today uses algebraic notation, but this was not always true. Many older books and magazines used descriptive notation, which makes it worth knowing. There are two main differences between algebraic and descriptive notation. The first difference is that the files are named according to the piece on that file in the initial position. The second difference is that the squares have different notations from the White and Black sides. Here's a diagram. In this diagram, the names of the squares as they are known from the White side are in BOLD type, and from the Black side are in NORMAL type. The square in the lower left is 'QR1' for White and 'QR8' for Black, where 'QR' means the 'Queen's Rook'. The square in the upper right is 'KR8' for White and 'KR1' for Black, where 'KR' means the 'King's Rook'. As in algebraic notation, the move is a combination of the moving piece plus the square to which it is moving, separated by a dash ('-'). The move 'Q-K4' means that a Queen is moving to the square K4; 'Q-KR4' means that a Queen is moving to the square KR4. In the second example, if there is no possibility that the Queen can move to QR4, 'Q-R4' is sufficient. In older literature, 'Kt' is often used instead of 'N' to denote the Knight. Descriptive notation is usually less compact than algebraic notation, but it does have a few advantages. For example, it is easier to refer to the symmetric qualities of the board. The phrase 'Rook's file' refers to both the 'QR' and 'KR' files. The phrase '7th rank' refers to the 7th rank for both White and Black from their respective sides of the board. Castling is noted exactly as in algebraic notation, O-O and O-O-O. Pawn promotion is similar. The move 'P-K8=Q' means that the Pawn is being promoted to a Queen. Ambiguous moves are generally distinguished by indicating whether the queenside or kingside piece is moving. Instead of 'N-B3', we write 'QN-B3' or 'KN-B3' to show which Knight is moving. If it is no longer simple to determine whether a piece was initially on the queenside or kingside, the square from which the piece is moving can be entered, for example, 'N/2-K4' or 'R/QB3-K3'. A capture is always indicated by an 'x', followed by the symbol of the piece being captured. The moves 'BxN', 'BxKN', or 'BxN/7' are all valid. Check is always indicated by a '+' or by 'ch'. If a Knight moves to B6 and gives check, this can be written 'N-B6+', or 'N-B6ch'. The e.p. move is always written with a trailing 'e.p.', for example, 'PxP e.p.' or 'KPxP e.p.' Here is a partial game score using descriptive notation. Previous Page -- Next Page Back to Basic Concepts