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Chess Notation

Understanding the notation is key to playing effectively.

Piece Representation

  • King: K
  • Queen: Q
  • Rook: R
  • Bishop: B
  • Knight: N
  • Pawn: No letter (just the move)

Move Types

  • Standard Move (Piece to Square): Nf3 (Knight to f3)
  • Pawn Move: e4 (Pawn to e4)
  • Capturing Moves:
    • Pawn Capturing: exd4 (Pawn on e-file captures on d4)
    • Piece Capturing: Nxd4 (Knight captures on d4)
      • File Ambiguity: Nfxd4 (Knight from f-file captures on d4)
      • Rank Ambiguity: N3xd4 (Knight from rank 3 captures on d4)
      • Both Ambiguous: Nf3xd4 (Knight from f3 captures on d4)
  • Castling:
    • Kingside: O-O
    • Queenside: O-O-O
  • Pawn Promotion: a8=Q (Pawn moves to a8 and promotes to Queen)
  • Check: Add + after the move, e.g., Nf7+