Understanding chess notation: reading and writing a game
The essential skill for following a video lesson, an annotated game, or recording your own games.
Key takeaway
Every square has a unique name (file a-h, rank 1-8); every move is noted by the piece and its destination square.
Every square on the board has a unique name: a letter from a to h for the file, a number from 1 to 8 for the rank. Square a1 is always at White's bottom-left corner, h8 always at the top-right.
Notating a move
Each move is written as the piece that's moving (nothing for a pawn, N for knight, B for bishop, R for rook, Q for queen, K for king) followed by the destination square. "e4" means a pawn advances to e4; "Nf3" means the knight moves to f3.
Symbols worth knowing
- ✓x — capture (Nxe5 = the knight captures on e5)
- ✓+ — check
- ✓# — checkmate
- ✓O-O — kingside castling
- ✓O-O-O — queenside castling
- ✓! — good move, !! — brilliant move
- ✓? — mistake, ?? — blunder
If two identical pieces can reach the same square, the starting file or rank is added for clarity (e.g. "Nbd7" to specify the knight from the b-file).
A universal language
This algebraic notation reads exactly the same in France, Japan, or Brazil (only piece names change between languages, but e4 always stays e4). It's what lets you follow a video lesson or replay champions' games, regardless of language.
To practice, try mentally notating your first five moves in your next game.