Improvement Beginner

Chess Notation

ChessBhumi Team 1 min read

Chess notation is the language of recorded chess. Once you can read it, you can replay any game from any era, from Morphy's Opera Game to yesterday's world championship game. Learning it takes 10 minutes.

The basics

  • Squares: a-h (files, left to right) + 1-8 (ranks, bottom to top) = a1 to h8.
  • Pieces: K=King, Q=Queen, R=Rook, B=Bishop, N=Knight. Pawns use no letter.
  • Moves: Piece + destination square. Nf3 = Knight to f3. e4 = pawn to e4.

Special symbols

x = captures (Bxe5 = Bishop captures on e5). + = check. # = checkmate. O-O = kingside castling. O-O-O = queenside castling. ! = good move. !! = brilliant move. ? = mistake. ?? = blunder. ?! = dubious. !? = interesting.

Practice

Try reading this game: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6, this is the Ruy López. Replay it on a board to practise reading notation.

#reference#chess-notation#beginner#fundamentals

More from the blog

Preparing for Your First Tournament Your first tournament is exciting and nerve-wracking. Here is everything you need to know to be prepared. How to Use Engines to Improve Most players just check for blunders. Here is how to actually learn from engine analysis. Best Online Chess Courses Online chess courses range from free to hundreds of pounds. Here are the ones actually worth your time.
← All articles