Chess Notation: How to Read and Write Chess Moves

Learn algebraic chess notation: square names, piece letters, captures, check, castling, promotion and symbols like ! and ?, so you can read and record any game.

Chess notation is the language players use to write down moves. Once you know it, you can follow chess books, articles and videos, review your own games, and record your moves in tournaments, where keeping score is required. The standard system, called algebraic notation, takes about ten minutes to learn.

Square names: files and ranks

Every square on the board has a name made of a letter and a number:

• The columns, called files, are labeled a to h from left to right, as seen from White's side.
• The rows, called ranks, are numbered 1 to 8, starting from White's side.

So the bottom-left corner from White's view is a1, and the top-right corner is h8. White's king starts on e1, and Black's king on e8.

Piece letters

Each piece except the pawn has a capital letter:

• K = king
• Q = queen
• R = rook
• B = bishop
• N = knight (K is already taken by the king)
• Pawns have no letter

How to write a move

A move is written as the piece letter + the square it moves to. For pawns, just write the square.

• Nf3 means a knight moves to f3.
• e4 means a pawn moves to e4.
• Bb5 means a bishop moves to b5.

Moves are numbered in pairs: White's move, then Black's reply. "1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5" is the start of the Ruy Lopez opening. Click "Show me" to play it through, and watch the move list:

When a move by Black is written on its own, it gets three dots after the move number: 3...a6 means Black's third move was a pawn to a6.

Special symbols

• x = capture. Bxc6 means a bishop captures on c6. For pawn captures, write the file the pawn came from: exd5.
• + = check. Qh5+ means the queen moves to h5 and gives check.
• # = checkmate. Qxf7# ends the game.
• O-O = kingside castling; O-O-O = queenside castling. See our castling guide.
• =Q = promotion. e8=Q means a pawn reaches e8 and becomes a queen. See pawn promotion.
• e.p. = en passant, added after the capture, as in exd6 e.p. (optional). See en passant.

When two pieces can go to the same square

Sometimes two identical pieces can move to the same square. Then you add the file (or, if needed, the rank) of the piece that moves:

• Nbd2: the knight from the b-file goes to d2 (not the one on f3).
• R1e2: the rook on the 1st rank goes to e2.

Annotation symbols: !, ?, !! and ??

Books and analysis add symbols after a move to judge it. They are not part of the move itself:

• ! good move
• !! brilliant move
• ? mistake
• ?? blunder
• !? interesting move
• ?! dubious move

Writing the result

A finished game ends with the result: 1-0 (White won), 0-1 (Black won) or 1/2-1/2 (draw).

Keeping score in a tournament

In standard (slow) tournament games under FIDE and US Chess rules, both players must write down every move, theirs and their opponent's, on a scoresheet, in algebraic notation. Write your move after you have made it on the board, not before.

There are exceptions. Under FIDE rules you may stop recording when you have less than five minutes left and no increment of 30 seconds or more. In rapid and blitz games, scorekeeping is usually not required.

Online, notation is recorded automatically. You can download any of your games on Chessyo as a PGN file (Portable Game Notation), the standard text format that every chess program understands, and study it in the analysis board.

Old-style descriptive notation

Older English books use descriptive notation, where 1.e4 is written "1. P-K4" (pawn to king four). It is no longer used in tournaments. FIDE has required algebraic notation for decades, and almost all modern books use it.

Practice makes it automatic

The fastest way to learn notation is to use it. Follow the move list while you watch games, read move sequences in our openings for beginners guide, and try to name squares while you play. Within a week or two you will "see" the coordinates without thinking.