Algebraic Chess Notation/Writing Down Your Games

This is just a quick guide to algebraic chess notation. I am going to be using this form of notation for all my blog posts.

Abbreviations:

In algebraic chess notation, each chess piece has an abbreviation to show that that is the chess piece that is moved.

• King = K
• Queen = Q
• Bishop = B
• Knight = N (Not "K" because the King is "K")

A pawn does not have an abbreviation - I will explain this below.

Squares on a chessboard:

Each square on a chessboard has a "NAME" - we use these "names" in algebraic chess notation to indicate where a piece moves to.

The "names" of the squares:

Each column is called a "file"; each row is called a "rank". The files are lettered A - H, while the ranks are numbered 1 - 8:

Indicating a move:

In the diagram below, say the bishop on b3 wants to move to a4. We write this as Ba4. The abbreviation of the piece that moves is written at the start and the square it moves TO is then written. The bishop move in longhand can also be written Bb3-a4. This time, the starting square of the bishop is written as well.

Say the bishop wants to CAPTURE the pawn on a2. A capture is marked by an "x", so the move would be recorded as Bxa2 or. The bishop may also want to CHECK the black king on f3 by moving to d1. A check is marked by a "+", so the move would be recorded as Bd1+. If the bishops wants take the pawn on d5 and CHECK the black king, the move would be recorded as Bxd5+. Now say that it's black's move, and the pawn on d5 wants to move one space down to d4. This would just be recorded as d4, or d5-d4 in longhand. If the pawn on a2 wanted to move one space down and promote to a QUEEN, the move would be recorded as a1=Q. Promotion to a BISHOP would be a1=B, etc. Now picture in your head that  we add a pawn onto c4 in the diagram. If the pawn on c4 were to capture the bishop on b3, the move would be recorded as cxb3 - the FILE the pawn is on is written before the "x".

Special moves:

• CASTLING is recorded as O-O for king-side castling, and O-O-O for queen-side castling.
• An EN-PASSANT capture is written just like a normal pawn capture, but just add e.p. at the end.
• Checkmate is recorded as putting a # at the end of a move.

Which piece?

Take a look at the diagram above. It's white's move and say that he decides to move a rook to e1 and CHECK the black king. Trouble is, WHICH rook? After careful consideration, white decides to move the rook on a1 to e1 to check the black king. But how do we write this down? In longhand, the move would be recorded as Ra1-e1+ - but what about shorthand? NOTE THIS CAREFULLY - in shorthand, you must also note down which RANK or FILE the piece that you're going to move is on. In this example, both rooks are on the SAME RANK (Rank 1), but the rook on a1 is on the A-FILE, and the rook on f1 is on the F-FILE. We write the move in shorthand as Rae1+ - if the rook on f1 was to move to e1, the move in shorthand wrote be written as Rfe1+.

In this diagram, say the knight ON B3 - not b7 - would like to move to c5 and CHECK the black king and FORK the rook. In shorthand, this would be recorded as N3c5+ as the two knights are on the SAME FILE, but on DIFFERENT RANKS.

Judgement of moves:

• If a move is a good or great move, add ! at the end of the move.
• If a move is an outstanding and excellent move, add !! at the end.
• If a move is a bad move, add ? at the end.
• If a move is a extremely bad blunder, add ?? at the end.

If I have missed anything, pleased write a comment to let me know!! Thanks!!

Why not start writing down your games...

Have YOU ever written down a chess game you have played? It can extremely helpful. After you play the game, if you lose, then you can review it and highlight the weak moves you made and how you could have done better. And of course, if you win, keep the notation of the chess game as a memory to how well you played! You can also review it and see if you could have played even BETTER!

Why not write a BOOK and record all of your most prized games in it? Organise them, annotate them, give your opinion on what you think would have been a better move if you stop a weak one.

• See our Algebraic Chess Notation page if you don't know how to record chess games.
• Use my Chess Score Sheet for a quick 'n' easy way to record your games:

Chess Score Sheet

Date:____________________ Time:______

White:_____________ Black:_____________

No.	White	Black	50		No.	White	Black	50

Copy & paste the above score sheet into a Word document and print! (If you don't have Microsoft Word you should consider downloading OpenOffice, a free Word-like word processor!)

1. Put the move number in the No. column
2. Put white and black's moves in their columns
3. The 50 column is for noting down how many moves have past since the last pawn movement or capture, and if the move number reaches 50, the game is a DRAW (this is a PROPER tournament rule, but if you're playing a fun game you can ignore the 50 column)

Have fun improving your chess tactics!