How to Read Chess Notation (Algebraic Notation Explained)

Every chess book, website and tournament uses the same short language to write down moves: algebraic notation. Once you can read it, you can follow any game ever recorded, from 19th-century masterpieces to last week's world-title games. It takes about ten minutes to learn.

Naming the squares

Every square has a name made of a letter and a number:

• The files (columns) are lettered a to h, from White's left to right.
• The ranks (rows) are numbered 1 to 8, from White's side to Black's.

So White's king starts on e1, Black's on e8, and the four centre squares are d4, e4, d5 and e5. The names never change, whichever side you play.

Writing a move

A move is written as the piece's letter, then the square it moves to:

So Nf3 means a knight moves to f3, and Bc4 a bishop moves to c4. A pawn move is just the square: e4 means a pawn moves to e4. (Knight is N because K is taken by the king.)

Moves are numbered in pairs - White's move, then Black's:

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5

If a line starts with a Black move, it is written with three dots: 3... a6.

The other symbols

• Captures add an x: Bxe5 means a bishop captures on e5. A pawn capture names the file the pawn came from: exd5 means the e-pawn captures on d5.
• Check adds +: Qh5+.
• Checkmate adds #: Qh4#.
• Castling is O-O (kingside) and O-O-O (queenside).
• Promotion adds the new piece: e8=Q (sometimes written e8Q).
• En passant is written like a normal pawn capture, sometimes with e.p. after it.

When two pieces could go to the same square

If two knights could both move to d2, the move adds the file (or rank) the piece came from: Nbd2 means the knight from the b-file, N1d2 the knight from the first rank. You will see one in the game below.

Results and comments

• 1-0 White won, 0-1 Black won, ½-½ a draw.
• ! a good move, !! a brilliant one, ? a mistake, ?? a blunder, !? an interesting move, ?! a dubious one.

Reading a whole game: the Opera Game

The best way to practise is to play through a famous game. In 1858, Paul Morphy played this game at a Paris opera house, against the Duke of Brunswick and Count Isouard consulting together. It is short, it is brilliant, and it uses nearly every symbol above - captures, checks, queenside castling, a choice between two knights, and mate.

Moves: 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 Bg4 4. dxe5 Bxf3 5. Qxf3 dxe5 6. Bc4 Nf6 7. Qb3 Qe7 8. Nc3 c6 9. Bg5 b5 10. Nxb5 cxb5 11. Bxb5+ Nbd7 12. O-O-O Rd8 13. Rxd7 Rxd7 14. Rd1 Qe6 15. Bxd7+ Nxd7 16. Qb8+ Nxb8 17. Rd8#

Open this position on the analysis board

Follow it move by move and check each piece's letter against where it lands. By the end you will be reading notation without thinking about it.

FEN and PGN

Two more formats appear on chess websites:

• PGN (Portable Game Notation) is a text file holding a whole game: the moves in algebraic notation, plus details such as the players, event and date. Every chess program can open it.
• FEN (Forsyth-Edwards Notation) describes one position in one line of text. The first part lists the pieces rank by rank from the 8th down, using letters (capitals for White) and numbers for empty squares; then it says whose move it is, the castling rights, any en passant square and the move counters. The starting position is:

rnbqkbnr/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 0 1

You can paste any FEN into our analysis board to set up that position and see what Stockfish thinks of it.

Practise reading

Now that you can read notation, the classic games are open to you. Start with the famous checkmate patterns, or test yourself with puzzles - every solution is shown in algebraic notation.