Chess Notation & Formats
Every chess game, position and engine speaks one of a handful of standard notations. These guides explain the four you'll meet most often — SAN for moves, PGN for whole games, FEN for positions, and UCI for engines — with worked examples you can try in our tools.
Algebraic Notation (SAN)
Learn how to read and write chess moves in Standard Algebraic Notation (SAN): files, ranks, piece letters, captures, castling, check, checkmate and promotion.
The PGN Format
Understand the PGN (Portable Game Notation) format: the seven-tag roster, move text, comments, NAGs and results. The standard way to store and share chess games.
FEN — Forsyth–Edwards Notation
Learn FEN (Forsyth–Edwards Notation): the compact one-line way to describe any chess position, field by field — piece placement, side to move, castling, en passant and clocks.
The UCI Protocol
A plain-English guide to UCI (Universal Chess Interface): how GUIs and engines like Stockfish communicate with commands such as position, go, and bestmove.