Chess notation
Also called Algebraic notation, SAN.
The short way to write moves: a piece letter, then the square it goes to.
Each move is a piece letter and a square. K is the king, Q the queen, R a rook, B a bishop and N a knight; pawns have no letter. So Nf3 is a knight to f3, and e4 is a pawn to e4. Here Black’s next move, knight to c6, is written Nc6.
x marks a capture (Nxe5), + a check and # a checkmate. O-O is castling on the king’s side, O-O-O on the queen’s side. A promotion adds the new piece, as in e8=Q. A pawn capture names the file the pawn leaves, as in exd5. When two of the same piece can reach a square, the file or rank they start from is added, as in Nbd2 or R1e2.
Moves are numbered in pairs, White’s then Black’s: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6. A Black move written on its own gets dots after its number, as in 2…Nc6.
New to chess? The examples here use it. Play your first moves (five minutes), then learn chess from the beginning, one short lesson at a time.
Learn and practise it
- Lesson: How moves are written