Chess Notation Explained
Every move label on this site — 'Nf3', 'Bc4', 'O-O' — is written in algebraic notation, the standard way chess moves are recorded worldwide. It looks cryptic for about five minutes and then becomes completely automatic; once you know the handful of rules below, you'll be able to read any move on any page here, in any chess book, or in any game database without translation.
The board's coordinates
Every square on the board has a unique address made of a letter and a number. Files (the vertical columns) are labeled a through h, running left to right from White's point of view. Ranks (the horizontal rows) are numbered 1 through 8, starting from White's side of the board. The square in White's near-right corner is h1; the square in Black's near-right corner, from White's perspective, is h8. Once you can find any square from its letter-and-number address, you can read a move.
Piece letters
A move starts with a capital letter identifying which piece moved, except for pawns, which use no letter at all. K stands for king, Q for queen, R for rook, B for bishop, and N for knight — N rather than K is used for the knight specifically because K is already taken by the king. A move like Nf3 means 'a knight moves to the square f3.' A move that's just a square by itself, like e4, means a pawn moved to e4, since pawns get no letter.
Captures, check, and checkmate
- An 'x' means a capture: Nxf3 means a knight captured a piece on f3.
- A '+' after a move means that move puts the opponent's king in check: Qh5+ means the queen moved to h5 and is now checking the king.
- A '#' after a move means checkmate: the game is over.
- Pawn captures are written with the file the pawn started on, not the piece letter: exd5 means a pawn on the e-file captured something on d5.
Castling and promotion
Castling — the special move where the king and a rook move together — is written O-O for castling on the kingside (the shorter move, toward the h-file) and O-O-O for castling on the queenside (the longer move, toward the a-file). When a pawn reaches the far end of the board and promotes, the notation adds an equals sign and the new piece: e8=Q means a pawn reached e8 and promoted to a queen, which is by far the most common promotion choice, though under-promoting to a rook, bishop, or knight is occasionally the correct move in specific positions.
When two pieces could make the same move
Occasionally two identical pieces could both legally move to the same square, and notation needs to specify which one moved. In that case, the starting file or rank is added after the piece letter: Nbd7 means the knight starting on the b-file moved to d7 (distinguishing it from a knight on another file that could also reach d7), and R1e2 means the rook starting on rank 1 moved to e2. This only appears when the ambiguity is real — most moves in a game don't need it.
You already know enough to read this site
Piece letter (or none, for a pawn), destination square, and an occasional x, +, #, or = for context. That's the whole system. Every step-through board on this site labels its moves exactly this way, so the best way to get comfortable is simply to click through a few.
Try it directly: the Italian Game page's step-through board labels every move in this notation, with a plain-language explanation alongside each one.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to memorize algebraic notation before I can play chess?
No — you can play a full game without ever writing a move down. Notation matters for reading books, databases, and reference sites like this one, and for recording your own games so you can review them later, which is one of the most effective ways to improve.
What does '!' or '?' after a move mean?
Those are annotator's symbols, not part of official notation: ! means a strong move, ? means a weak or bad move, !? means an interesting but risky move, and ?! means a dubious move that isn't necessarily a mistake. You'll see these in chess books and annotated games, not in raw move lists.
Why do pawn captures not use a piece letter?
Because pawns never get a letter in algebraic notation at all — only the destination square is written for a normal pawn move. For a capture specifically, the file the pawn started on is written instead, since the destination square alone wouldn't show which pawn made the capture.