How Does Algebraic Chess Notation Work
Did you know there is a language you can learn in under five minutes? Not just any language, but one that allows you to communicate with and learn from chess grandmasters and players all around the world? The language of chess! Specifically, we will be learning algebraic chess notation, how it works, and why it's helpful to know.
What Exactly is Algebraic Chess Notation
Algebraic chess notation is the universal way to record and talk about chess games. All modern chess books, courses, and, most importantly, chess blogs use algebraic chess notation.
The end goal of chess notation is to accurately record and communicate what happened in a chess game. If you are about to play in your first tournament and are trying to learn quickly, remember you want to communicate clearly what happened on the board. If you are not sure how to write a specific move, do your best to put down what is most clear.
Before you learn how to notate a move in chess, you first need to understand an important part of the chessboard.
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The basis of chess notation starts with every square having a name. Each vertical row, or file, is labeled with a letter. From left to right, from the white side, they are labeled “a” through “h.” note that when using algebraic chess notation, you always use small letters to indicate squares.
Similarly, the horizontal rows, known as ranks, are labeled “1” through “8.” Often, a tournament-style chess board will have these Algebraic chess notations on the side of the board for you to reference while notating during your game.
Now that we can identify the names of each square, we can start notating.
Structure of Algebraic Chess Notation
Here is what an average move in chess notation might look like from the following starting position.
6.Bc4 Nf6
The notation is telling the story of the move. What piece is moving, and where did it go, or what did it do?
Firstly, the “6.” This is the 6th move of the game. If you use a chess notation sheet or score book, the moves will already be numbered for you.
Next, the move! White’s move is listed first and starts with what piece is being moved. Every piece is abbreviated with the first letter of the piece, with the only exceptions being that the knight is abbreviated with “N,” and pawns, which are generally not considered “pieces,” do not get a letter at all.
Here is our move again: 6.Bc4 Nf6
So the story of this move is that the Bishop, “B,” is moving to the square “c4.” Note that when it comes to pieces, we use Capital letters, unlike squares.
Second, we have blacks move, “Nf6.” This is the knight, “N,” moving to the square f6. Here is the resulting position after move 6:
Do you recognize this as the beginning of one of the “7 Famous Chess Games You Should Commit To Memory?”
Piece Abbreviations
Here is a short list of all the abbreviated pieces:
- K=king
- Q=queen
- R=rook
- B=bishop
- N=knight
However, when a pawn moves, you only indicate the square on which it arrives. So, in the King's Pawn Opening, you would notate it as just 1. e4. If there is no piece mentioned in the notation, it is a pawn move.
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Special Moves and Notations
Now, there are some other special kinds of notation that you will need to know that tell more of the story of a move. The most important extra kinds of notation are captures, checks, checkmates, and castling.
Captures
Captures are indicated with an “x.” You do not need to say what piece you capture, only what square you are landing on. Therefore, if a Bishop captures a Queen on d1, you would notate that as “Bxd1.”
If a pawn is capturing, you indicate the file the pawn is leaving and then the square it captures on. So if the pawn on e4 captures a pawn on d5, that would be notated as exd5.
Now, what if that capture was also a check?
Algebraic chess notation: Checks
To indicate that a move is a check, we add the “+” symbol after the move. If the move were “Bishop captures on f7 check,” it would be written as “Bxf7+.”
Algebraic chess notation: Checkmates
If a move is a checkmate, it is indicated after the move with “#.” So if the queen capturing on f7 is checkmate, that would be notated with Qxf7#.
Algebraic chess notation: Castling
You might not get a checkmate in every game you play, but you should be castling every game! So it is essential to know how to notate castling kingside and queenside.
When you castle short or kingside, you indicate that move with 0-0. This helps distinguish the move from a standard king move.
Now, if you are castling long or queenside, then you notate that as 0-0-0.
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The last oddity when notating is if there are multiple of the same piece that can move to a certain square. Then, you need to indicate which piece you have moved with an additional letter or number of the rank or file.
The most common example is when you have both rooks on the back rank and need to indicate which one you are moving.
So, Rd1 would become Rfd1 when moving the “f” rook, adding the letter from the file from which you are moving. The key in these situations is to notice if clarification is needed and add that clarification to your notation.
With that, you can now add the language of chess to your resume or your LinkedIn page, but are there any other uses for your newfound skill?
Why Learn Algebraic Chess Notation
There are several reasons why you should master algebraic chess notations, including:
Analyzing Your Games
Every chess coach can agree on one method of chess improvement: analyzing and reviewing your chess games. The only way to review the games you play is if you record them. That can be during a chess tournament, at home, or even online. Recording, or “notating,” your games is the first step to analyzing and improving those games.
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Another reason to learn algebraic chess notation is that you are now ready to play in your first chess matches! Tournament play almost always requires you to notate your games, and feeling confident in your notation is an important part of feeling ready to play.
Read More Chess Books (And Blogs)
You speak the language now, which opens up a whole world of chess improvement for you to embrace. There are plenty of great chess books you can start learning from and master games you can now understand. One of the benefits of learning the language of chess is that you can play through thousands of master’s games.
Final Thoughts
You may not feel like you understand all of chess, but now you can notate your games, read chess books, and learn from master games. Learning the language of chess notation is a step in everyone’s chess journey that starts you on your path to mastery!