Chess notation is the system used to record, share, and replay chess games. Every move in every game ever played at the elite level exists in written form, from Morphy’s Opera Game of 1858 to Magnus Carlsen’s most recent tournament victory. Learning to read chess notation is the key that unlocks access to over a century of recorded chess history — and to every puzzle, analysis, and game database on the internet.
The universal standard today is algebraic notation, adopted by FIDE as the official recording system for all rated games. It is elegant, compact, and — once understood — completely unambiguous.
“Writing down your moves is not just a rule. It is how chess talks to the future. Every notation you record is a gift to anyone who wants to understand the game.” — Garry Kasparov, 13th World Chess Champion
The Board: Files, Ranks, and Coordinates
Before writing moves, you need to understand how squares are named. A chess board is an 8x8 grid. Each square has a unique two-character coordinate.
Files run vertically (from White’s side to Black’s side). They are labeled a through h, left to right from White’s perspective.
Ranks run horizontally (left to right across the board). They are numbered 1 through 8, with rank 1 on White’s side and rank 8 on Black’s side.
Every square is a file letter followed by a rank number: e4, d5, g7, a1, h8.
Piece Symbols
Each piece has a one-letter abbreviation in algebraic notation. These are the same across all English-language chess literature and are the FIDE standard:
The Knight uses N instead of K because K is reserved for the King. This is the single most common source of confusion for beginners — commit it to memory early.
Pawns have no letter prefix. A pawn move is written as just the destination square: e4, d5, c6. If a pawn captures, the file it starts from is added: exd5 means a pawn on the e-file captures on d5.
How to Write a Move
A standard move in algebraic notation is written as:
[Piece letter] + [destination square]
For example:
- Nf3 — Knight moves to f3
- Bc4 — Bishop moves to c4
- Qd8 — Queen moves to d8
- e4 — Pawn moves to e4 (no piece letter for pawns)
That is all there is to a basic move. The piece, then the square it lands on.
Special Symbols in Chess Notation
Beyond basic moves, algebraic notation uses several special symbols for common situations:
Annotation Symbols
Beyond the game mechanics, players and analysts use evaluation symbols to annotate moves:
- ! — Good move
- !! — Brilliant move
- ? — Mistake
- ?? — Blunder
- !? — Interesting or speculative move
- ?! — Dubious move
These symbols appear in game annotations and instructional texts. They are optional — the notation remains valid without them.
Disambiguation: When Two Pieces Can Go to the Same Square
Sometimes two identical pieces (two knights, two rooks, two bishops) can both move to the same square. To specify which piece moves, a disambiguating character is added between the piece letter and the destination:
- Rab1 — The rook on the a-file moves to b1 (there is also a rook on another file that could go to b1)
- Nbd2 — The knight on the b-file moves to d2
- R1e4 — The rook on rank 1 moves to e4
If the file alone is not enough (two rooks on the same file but different ranks), the rank number is added instead. This comes up most often with rooks in endgames and is handled automatically by chess software.
En Passant
En passant is a special pawn capture that can only occur immediately after an opponent moves a pawn two squares forward from its starting position, passing through a square where an enemy pawn could have captured it.
The notation for en passant is simply the capture notation — exd6 — with “e. p.” sometimes added for clarity: exd6 e. p.
The two-squares-forward pawn move creates a temporary capture window. If the capturing player does not take en passant immediately on the next move, the right to do so expires permanently. FIDE’s official rules have governed en passant since the Laws of Chess were standardized in the 20th century.
How to Read a Game Score
A game score is a list of moves in algebraic notation, numbered by move pairs. White’s move comes first, then Black’s:
1. e4 e5
2. Nf3 Nc6
3. Bc4 Bc5
4. 0-0 Nf6
5. d3 d6
This is the opening of the Italian Game (Giuoco Piano). Reading it:
- Move 1: White plays pawn to e4. Black plays pawn to e5.
- Move 2: White’s knight goes to f3. Black’s knight goes to c6.
- Move 3: White’s bishop goes to c4. Black’s bishop goes to c5.
- Move 4: White castles kingside. Black’s knight goes to f6.
- Move 5: White plays pawn to d3. Black plays pawn to d6.
PGN Format: The Universal Game File Standard
PGN (Portable Game Notation) is the file format used to store, share, and import chess games across all software and databases. Every game on Lichess. org, Chess. com, and FIDE’s game archive is available in PGN format.
A PGN file has two parts: a tag section with metadata, and a move text section with the game itself.
[Event "World Chess Championship 1972"]
[Site "Reykjavik, Iceland"]
[Date "1972.07.23"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Fischer, Robert James"]
[Black "Spassky, Boris Vasilyevich"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D59"]
1. c4 e6 2. Nf3 d5 3. d4 Nf6 4. Nc3 Be7 5. Bg5 0-0 6. e3 h6 7. Bh4 b6
8. cxd5 Nxd5 9. Bxe7 Qxe7 10. Nxd5 exd5... 1-0
The tags in square brackets record the event, location, date, round, players, result, and ECO opening code. The move text follows in algebraic notation.
Results are recorded as:
- 1-0 — White wins
- 0-1 — Black wins
- 1/2-1/2 — Draw
PGN files can be opened in any chess program — Lichess, ChessBase, Stockfish, or dedicated mobile apps — to replay the game move by move with engine analysis.
Long Algebraic Notation
Standard algebraic notation (SAN) shows only the destination square. Long algebraic notation (LAN) also shows the starting square:
- SAN: Nf3 (knight to f3)
- LAN: g1f3 (knight from g1 to f3)
Long algebraic notation is used by chess engines internally and in some computer interfaces. For human reading and writing, standard algebraic notation is the universal choice.
Practice: Read a Famous Game
The best way to become fluent in chess notation is to follow along with a famous game on a physical or digital board. Game 6 of the 1972 Fischer-Spassky World Championship match is widely considered one of the greatest chess games ever played and is extensively annotated in every major chess database.
On Lichess. org, you can import any PGN and step through moves with a click. The Lichess study feature also allows annotation and sharing, making it ideal for beginners working through a game for the first time.
At Shatranj Live, you can track your own games alongside your rating progress. As your notation fluency grows, so does your ability to analyze games — your own and the masters’.
For tactical training that builds notation reading speed, see the Lichess Chess Puzzles: The Complete Tactics Guide on the Shatranj Live blog.
Key Takeaways
- Algebraic notation is the FIDE-standard system for recording chess moves. Each square has a unique file-rank coordinate (a1 through h8).
- Piece symbols: K (King), Q (Queen), R (Rook), B (Bishop), N (Knight). Pawns have no letter.
- Special symbols: x (capture), + (check), # (checkmate), 0-0 (kingside castle), 0-0-0 (queenside castle), =Q (promotion).
- PGN format stores games as text files that any chess software can open, replay, and analyze.
- The fastest way to master notation is to follow actual games on a board, move by move, until the symbols feel natural.
Once you can read notation fluently, explore the master games themselves: the Bobby Fischer chess profile and Garry Kasparov chess profile on Shatranj Live include annotated games to follow.
