Do you grasp algebraic notation intuitively? How much experience did it require?

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LennyF53

Hey Rosenbalm...I know exactly what you mean.

Fischer used descriptive...who was going to correct him?

 

What I have done is on my practice board attached strips of paper a, b, c, d, etc for the files, and then, upside down and in mirror done it again so when your playing black you look down and see a, b, c, etc...get it?...(1, 2, 3, 4, etc along the ranks and ditto as mirror images). I find it helps me, hope it helps you.

 

sarajevo1969

Like SmyslovFan I learned descriptive first, probably as a pre-teen, and never had a problem with it.  Not sure when I started to pick up algebraic, probably 10 years or so later, and it was a bit of a struggle, as descriptive was entrenched in my mind.  I still often make mistakes such as referring to c7 as f7, but I would never get QB7 (or QB2 as Black) mixed up with KB7 or KB2 as the case might be, maybe because I still have lots of books in Descriptive, and therefore keep using my mother tongue, so to speak.

dude667

The long-form algebraic (c2-c4  or Ng1-f3) is the absolute best and most complete  notation in my opinion and I strongly recommend it,  especially to players who have just started learning notation.

SaintGermain32105

http://brooklyn64.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/a-bust-to-the-kings-gambit.pdf

Right. He probably would have been criticized for d6! as well by some folks. He lived in the USA, where the descriptive notation was the dominant notation at his time, the only reason that comes to mind.

LennyF53

no...think that algebraic was required in competition chess at that time...but being BF who was going to tell him to change! 

Rosenbalm

Thanks Lenny. That's actually a really good idea.

Pulpofeira

I feel comfortable with both. Maybe I would find weird going on a Carlsen's game on descriptive though, but I prefer it if it's the Evergreen or the Opera game for example. :)  It could be not only a matter of taste or preferences but wich one fits on you more, I remember struggling with French for years with almots zero results and learning English much more easily when I faced it for the first time years later.