Beginner guide
How to read chess notation
Every move in your game review is written in a short code. Once you know the code, you can read any game in the world — and follow exactly what ChessInt is showing you.
Every square has a name
The board is a grid. The columns (called files) are lettered a to h from left to right. The rows (called ranks) are numbered 1 to 8 from White’s side. Put a letter and a number together and you have named a square — like e4, the famous centre square.
The piece letters
- K — King
- Q — Queen
- R — Rook
- B — Bishop
- N — Knight
- (none) — Pawn
The knight is N because K is already taken by the king. Pawns get no letter at all — you just write the square.
Putting it together
- e4 — a pawn moves to e4.
- Nf3 — a knight moves to f3.
- Bxe5 — a bishop captures on e5 (x = capture).
- exd5 — the e-pawn captures on d5.
- O-O — castle kingside; O-O-O — castle queenside.
- Qh5+ — queen to h5, giving check (+).
- Qxf7# — queen captures on f7, checkmate (#).
Moves come in pairs, numbered by turn: 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 means White played e4 and Black replied e5, then White played Nf3 and Black replied Nc6. That is all a game score is.
Frequently asked questions
What does Nf3 mean in chess?
N is the knight (K is already the king), and f3 is the destination square. So 'Nf3' means 'knight moves to the f3 square'. Pawns have no letter — 'e4' just means a pawn moves to e4.
What does the 'x' mean in chess notation?
An 'x' means a capture. 'Bxe5' means a bishop captures the piece on e5. For pawn captures you write the starting file, like 'exd5' (the e-pawn captures on d5).
What do O-O and O-O-O mean?
O-O is kingside castling (the short one) and O-O-O is queenside castling (the long one). A '+' after a move means check, and '#' means checkmate.
New to the game itself? Start with how to play chess. Confused by a term? See the glossary.