Standard algebraic notation names each move by the piece and its destination, such as Nf3 for a knight moving to f3. Captures insert an x, check adds +, checkmate adds #, castling is written O-O or O-O-O, and promotion uses =Q. It is the notation used by PGN files and every chess site.
Chess notation looks like a code but it is closer to a shorthand. Each symbol answers one question, and once you know the six or seven rules you can read any move list in the world.
The letters stand for pieces
| Letter | Piece |
|---|---|
| K | King |
| Q | Queen |
| R | Rook |
| B | Bishop |
| N | Knight |
| (nothing) | Pawn |
N is used for a knight because K is already taken by the king. Pawns have no letter at all: e4 means a pawn moved to e4, and there is no piece that could be confused with it because a pawn is the only piece written without a letter.
English is not special here. In a French PGN a knight is C for cavalier and a bishop is F for fou, and the files remain the same. A translator or a chess program converts between them, which is one reason to prefer a viewer over reading raw text in an unfamiliar language.
Squares name a file and a rank
Every square is a letter from a to h followed by a number from 1 to 8. The letter is the file, the vertical column; the number is the rank, the horizontal row. White's pieces start on ranks 1 and 2, Black's on 7 and 8.
So Nf3 means a knight moved to the square f3. Combined with the piece letter, that is enough to identify almost every move uniquely.
Captures, checks and mates
- x means a capture. Qxd5 is a queen capturing whatever stood on d5. Pawn captures include the origin file: exd5 is a pawn from the e-file capturing on d5.
- + means check.
- # means checkmate. Some writers use ++ for double check instead, so context matters.
- ! and ? are human judgements about move quality, not part of the move. ! is good, ? is poor, ?? is a blunder, ?! is dubious.
Castling has its own symbols
Castling is written with the letter O, not a zero, and is the only move named by the king's action rather than a destination square. O-O is kingside castling, O-O-O is queenside. Neither ever takes an x, because a king may not castle out of, through, or into check, so a castling capture is impossible.
Promotion uses an equals sign
A pawn reaching the last rank is written with the destination, then =, then the piece chosen: e8=Q. Some older books write e8Q with no equals sign, and some annotate the capture form as exd8=Q. A promotion to a knight is a real and frequently decisive choice, so =N is worth watching for.
Disambiguation: when the letter and square are not enough
Two knights can often both reach f3. When that happens, the notation adds just enough information to tell them apart, and only just enough.
Nbd2 knight from the b-file goes to d2
N3d2 knight from rank 3 goes to d2
Nb3d2 knight from b3 goes to d2, the rare full formThis is the rule that trips up beginners, because the extra character looks arbitrary until you notice it is only ever added when a real ambiguity exists. If you see Ngf3 rather than Nf3, some other knight could also have moved to f3.
Move numbers
A number with a dot introduces White's move: 1. e4. Three dots introduce Black's move when White's half is not written: 1... e5. In a printed game White's move and Black's reply normally sit together as one numbered pair, 1. e4 e5, and only when a variation interrupts the flow does the three-dot form appear.
Reading a real move list
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6