Anyone Else Find It Impossible To Master Chess Notation?

I've been playing this game for over a year and still cannot master the algebraic board notation (in other words, stuff like A1, C3, F5, G7, etc.).  

For some reason, my brain hates the standard notation and actually does better reversing the numbers and letters.  So, I can find 1G, 5C, 7F, etc. faster than the other way around.  It's like a deep inexplicable mental block for me.  

But even putting that aside, my question is whether you guys have mastered the notation well enough so that you can INSTANTLY follow the discussion of commentators who seem to talk a mile a minute and as if the notation should INSTANTLY conjure up these positions and moves in our brain.  I'll be watching some random chess commentary video on YouTube and the guy is like:  

"Well, if Queen takes on F5, then the Bishop on G2 can pin the Knight and Rook by going to B7, but then Black has a nifty response by trapping White's Queen with Rook to A8....and then yada yada yada...X can go to G5 or C2, but Y can respond with F7....etc. etc. etc."

I mean, I'm usually sitting there like WHAT IN THE WORLD?  SLOW DOWN!!!  These guys will talk fast and using notation in succession like we can follow instantly the play in our heads just from hearing the notation for a second.  

Is this the norm for most chess players where you guys can follow along at the rate of commentary speed?  Am I the only one who cannot follow despite over a year of play? 

If anyone has any tips for how they went about mastering notation, please do feel free to share!!  I'd definitely want to learn if it's not too much work.

I read chess books using a computer progrm chess board to make my moves where I can type in 'nf6' and it makes the move. Eventually you just get used to where the squares are this way and now I can play blindfold chess fairly effectively. If you're trying to do it simply through playing, then it  would be very difficult, since notation does not really come into play during say a blitz game where you take no notice of what the coordinates are.

When they talk quickly, I still struggle to follow sometimes. It gets better the more you play and notate, gaining experience basically.

Maybe it helps you if you perceive the notation like in normal writing and reading where you mentally also move from left to right (not in Arabic of course). In chess notation you also write the horizontal part first.

The simplest way to learn notation is to simply write the moves of alot of games. So play through a game on the computer (where you can't see the notation) and write down the game on paper or something. Then you will rapidly learn it. Speed is something that comes with experience

I guess you'll just have to get used to looking at files before ranks. The other thing is playing the game itself a lot and recording the moves or saying them out loud. You'll quickly get used to which squares are talked about the most often and be able to remember key points easily. And of course with time you'll be able to recognize any square at top speed.

Possibly the OP has got better in the intervening five years

Most likely. Hopefully they'll come back some day to talk of their progress.

It gets easier as you play/read more, however, it shouldn't prevent you from improving your game ..

If you can pause the video, then you can step through one move at a time and take it in at your own pace.

My question is why can't the notation be something like "Qa4-a6" to denote the Queen has moved from position a4 to a6.  If there is a capture from the move, place an "x" in the rightmost position i.e. "Qa4-a6x". Isn't this way clear and logical as compared to what we have now?

>My question is why can't the notation be something like "Qa4-a6"

There is such a thing. It's called long algebraic notation or expanded algebraic notation.

The Wikipedia page discusses it briefly in the "Similar Notations" section at the bottom, saying "The long notation take more space and thus is not as commonly used. However, it has the advantage of clarity, particularly for less-skilled players or players learning the game."

To answer the question originally posed back in May 2014: no, I do not find it difficult at all. In fact, I find it easier than the system I learned in the early 70's.