How to Read and Write Chess Notation 3054 US Route 9W • New Windsor, N.Y
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U.S. CHESS Keeping Score! FEDERATION 914-562-8350 How To Read And Write Chess Notation 3054 US Route 9W • New Windsor, N.Y. 12553 http://www.uschess.org Chess players have invented a Black also acceptable to omit the x; Nxf6 variety of systems of notation so 8 jujuqujTa8 can also be written as Nf6, and gxf6 they can record the moves of their aqKing gf, 7 ujujuwujb7 as etc. games. We will introduce you to two swQueen 6 jujujYjuc6 The symbol for check is a plus of the most popular ones. deBishop 5 ujujujHjd5 sign. In the example, Black could There are excellent reasons for jujujufue4 frKnight play Qe6+. How would we record knowing how to use notation. Many 4 ujujujujf3 gtRook White’s Knight taking the Black people like to replay their games so 3 2 jDjujujug2 hyPawn pawn with check? The answer is they will learn from both their good Nxf6+. 1 GjujAsujh1 and bad moves. Most players also Castling on the Kingside (as Black abc de f gh enjoy looking at games played by may do in our example) is written other people. White 0-0. White may castle Queenside, Players need to know chess nota- Diagram A which is written 0-0-0. Here’s an easy tion to play in tournaments. Each rank 2. Put these two together and way to remember which is which. In player must complete a certain num- you have b2 — that’s where the Bish- each case, the number of zeros is the ber of moves within a specified time op is! How about White’s King? Try same as the number of squares the limit. A written record of the game e1. Similarly, the White Rook is on Rook moves in castling. proves that you have made the a1, the White Knight is on g4, the When a player promotes a pawn, required number of moves, or that White pawn is on g5, the White we follow the move with an equal your opponent hasn’t! It’s easy to Queen is on f1, the Black Queen is on sign and the letter for the piece into learn these systems once you know f7, the Black pawn is on f6, the Black which the pawn changes. If Black a few basic chess terms. A file is an Rook is on h8, and the Black King is had a pawn on h2, he could promote up-and-down row of squares; the on e8. it to a Queen with h1=Q, to a Knight Kings begin the game on the same To identify the pieces, we use the with h1=N, and so forth. file. A rank is a side-to-side row of first letter of each word, except the When it is possible for a player to squares; all the White pawns start on Knight is shown as N, because K is move more than one of the same the same rank. The Kingside is the used for the King. No symbol is need- type of piece to a square, we must half of the board (right half from ed for the pawns. also identify which piece is moving. White’s point of view, left half from To record a move, we write the let- For example, let’s say White also had Black’s) on which each player’s King ter for the piece and the name of the a Rook on d1. If he wanted to move starts. The other half of the board is square to which it is moving. In the one of his Rooks to c1, we would called the Queenside. diagram, for example, White could have to write either Rac1 or Rdc1, move his King one square toward his depending on which Rook he chose Algebraic Rook. This is written as Kd1. Moving to move. Similarly, if Black had a Algebraic notation is the most the Rook forward one square would Rook on h5 and played one of them widely used system in the world. It is be written Ra2. to h7, we would write R5h7 or R8h7. the official notation system of the When a pawn moves, we need only That’s all there is to algebraic nota- World Chess Federation (FIDE). Most record the square it moves to. For tion! See the sample game for some people find it simple to learn and example, if the Black pawn moved easy practice. use. forward one square, we write f5. In this system, each file, or up-and- (Remember, Black is moving down Long Algebraic down row of squares, is assigned a from the top of the board.) Some players, publications, and letter, starting from a on White’s left Captures are recorded using an x chess computers use a system and running through h on his right. after the letter for the capturing known as “long algebraic.” This nota- The ranks, or side-to-side rows, are piece. For instance, if White’s Bishop tion is identical to algebraic, with the numbered 1 through 8, starting from captured the Black pawn, we would addition of identifying the square a the row of squares nearest White and write Bxf6. When a pawn captures piece moved from as well as the one proceeding up the board towards something, we name the file the it moved to, with a hyphen between Black. Diagram A shows how to find pawn was on and the square where it the two. For example, in algebraic the name of each square easily. makes the capture. If White’s pawn the first move for each player might What square is the White Bishop captured Black’s pawn, the move be recorded as 1. d4 Nf6; in long alge- on? First, find out what file it is on: would be gxf6. If Black’s pawn cap- braic, this would be written 1. d2-d4 the b file. Then check its rank: it’s on tured White’s it would be fxg5. It is Ng8-f6. Black Descriptive Notation pawn on White’s K5 would make us jujuqujT Descriptive notation uses the same use KPxP or NPxP for capturing 8 aqKing letters as algebraic for the pieces, Black’s pawn on KB3. 7 ujujuwuj swQueen with the addition of P for all pawn 6 jujujYju deBishop moves. The major difference is in the An Example 5 ujujujHj way each system identifies the square Here is a sample opening in alge- frKnight 4 jujujufu to which a piece is moving. braic and descriptive notation: 3 ujujujuj gtRook In descriptive, the files are named 2 jDjujuju hyPawn for the pieces that stand on them at Algebraic Descriptive 1 GjujAsuj the beginning of the game. The file on 1. d4 Nf6 1. P-Q4 N-KB3 a b c d e f g h which the Kings start, the e-file in alge- In descriptive, we must indicate White braic, is the K-file in descriptive. Simi- which B3 we mean, because each Diagram B larly, the algebraic d-file is the descrip- Knight can reach a B3 square. tive Q-file. The remaining files are 2. c4 e6 2. P-QB4 P-K3 Figurine Algebraic identified as being on the “Queenside’’ 3. Nf3 Bb4+ 3. N-KB3 B-N5ch Chess is a sort of international lan- (a-, b-, and c-files become QR-, QN-, and Notice the difference in the way guage, and people of all cultures use QB-files) or the “Kingside’’ (f-, g-, and check is written. chess notation with one another. But h-files become KB-, KN-, and KR-files). 4. Nc3 d5 4. N-B3 P-Q4 each language has different names Each rank has two names in descrip- Here, N-B3 is sufficient in descrip- for the pieces. The move we know as tive notation. They are numbered 1 tive because only one Knight can Bd3 in algebraic notation would be through 8 from each side of the board, move to a B3 square. Fd3 in French and Ld3 in German. Fig- depending on which player is moving. 5. e3 Bxc3+ 5. P-K3 BxNch urine algebraic notation makes it The square that is a1 in algebraic Remember, algebraic uses the possible to overcome the language would be QR1 for White and QR8 for square a piece is captured on, while differences. Black in descriptive. descriptive gives the symbol for the This system employs the symbols To record a move, we give the name captured piece. used in diagrams of chess positions. of the piece and the square it moves 6. bxc3 c5 6. PxB P-B4 They are printed to the right of our to, just as in algebraic. For instance, 1. 7. cxd5 exd5 7. BPxP KPxP diagram. These standard symbols — d4 Nf6 in algebraic would be 1. P-Q4 N- There were two pawn captures silhouettes of the chessmen — can KB3 (Black’s KB3, which is White’s possible for each player, so we had be recognized by players from any- KB6) in descriptive. to make them absolutely clear in where in the world. Moves are simplified whenever pos- descriptive. To identify the move we know as sible by omitting the K (for Kingside) If you have followed the game cor- Bd3, figurine algebraic would use and Q (for Queenside). In our dia- rectly, the resulting position should dd3. Other moves are expressed in gram, moving White’s pawn forward look like Diagram C: similar fashion. As in algebraic nota- (g6 in algebraic) would be P-N6; P-KN6 In all systems of chess notation, we tion, the symbol for “pawn” is never isn’t necessary, since White cannot sometimes comment on the quality used; 1.