Learning Chess notations made Easy!

📝 Learning Chess Notation for beginners , intermediate or strong players.

Chess notation is the universal language of chess, used to record and share games. Once you know it, you can replay famous games, analyze your own, and discuss moves with anyone in the world.

1. Chess Pieces and Their Letters

King = K

Queen = Q

Rook = R

Bishop = B

Knight = N (we use N to avoid confusion with King)

Pawn = (no letter, just the square name)

2. Writing Moves

Moves are written with the piece letter + square.

Example: Nf3 = Knight moves to f3.

Example: e4 = Pawn moves to e4.

3. Captures

An x shows a capture.

Example: Bxe5 = Bishop captures on e5.

Example: exd5 = Pawn from e-file captures on d5.

4. Check and Checkmate

+ = check -> Qh5+

# = checkmate ->Qh7#

5. Disambiguation (When Two Same Pieces Can Move to the Same Square)

Sometimes two (or more) identical pieces can move to the same square. To avoid confusion, we add extra info:

Use the file (letter a–h) if it clears things up.

If not, use the rank (1–8).

If both are still possible, use file + rank.

Examples

Knights

Knights on g1 and e2 can move to f3:

From g1 → Ngf3

From e2 → Nef3

Rooks

Rooks on a1 and h1 can move to e1:

From a1 → Rae1

From h1 → Rhe1

Ranks vs Files

Knights on d2 and d4, both to f3:

From rank 2 → N2f3

From rank 4 → N4f3

Both File and Rank

Rooks on a1, a8, and h1, all able to go to a5:

From a1 → Ra1a5

From a8 → Ra8a5

From h1 → Rh1a5

Capture with Disambiguation

Bishops on c4 and e2 both attacking g6:

From c4 → Bcg6 (or Bc4xg6)

From e2 → Beg6 (or Be2xg6)

Queen Capture Example (Special Case)

White has two queens: one on h4, one on d2. Black has a pawn on d4.

From h4 → Qh4xd4 (or Qh4d4)

From d2 → Qd2xd4 (or Qd2d4)

Here, both queens could capture, so we must write the full starting square.

6. Putting It All Together

 Example 1:

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5

(Ruy Lopez opening: pawn to e4, pawn to e5, knight to f3, knight to c6, bishop to b5.)

 Example 2:

1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Qxd5 3. Nc3 Qa5 4. d4

(Scandinavian Defense: white captures pawn, queen comes out, knight develops, pawn to d4.)

📖 Once you master notation, you can read books, replay classic games, analyze engines, and even share your games online. It’s like learning the alphabet of chess!