Guide · 2026-11-03 · 7 min read

How to read and write chess notation (and keep a scoresheet in a tournament)

Algebraic notation in ten minutes: square names, piece letters, captures, checks, castling, promotion and the symbols in chess books, then the FIDE rules for writing your moves in a tournament, practised on Morphy’s famous Opera Game.

Chess notation is the way players write down moves. Children need it for three reasons: rated tournaments with slow time controls require every player to record the game; every book, video and website uses it; and a written game is the only way to review it later. The system used everywhere today is algebraic notation, and it takes about ten minutes to learn.

Square names

Every square has a name made of a letter and a number. The letters a to h name the files (columns), from White’s left to White’s right. The numbers 1 to 8 name the ranks (rows), from White’s side to Black’s side. So White’s king starts on e1 and Black’s king on e8, and the names never change, whichever side you are playing.

A quick check: the bottom right square from White’s side, h1, is always a light square. If it is dark on your board, the board is turned the wrong way.

Piece letters

A move is the piece letter plus the square it moves to. Nf3 means "a knight moves to f3". A pawn move is just the square: e4 means "a pawn moves to e4". Moves are numbered in pairs, White first: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6. When a book starts a line with Black’s move, it writes three dots: 2...Nc6.

Captures, checks and mate

• x means a capture: Bxc6 is "bishop takes on c6". For a pawn capture, write the file the pawn came from: exd5 is "the e-pawn takes on d5".
• + means check: Bb5+.
• # means checkmate: Qxf7#.
• O-O is castling on the king’s side, O-O-O on the queen’s side (letter O, or zero, both are accepted).
• =Q is promotion: e8=Q is "the pawn reaches e8 and becomes a queen". e8=N would be a knight.
• e.p. is sometimes added after an en passant capture: exd6 e.p.

When two pieces can go to the same square

If two knights (or two rooks) could both move to the square, add the file or rank they come from. Nbd7 means "the knight from the b-file goes to d7", not the one on f6. If they are on the same file, use the rank instead: R1e2 means "the rook on the first rank goes to e2".

The symbols in chess books

• ! a good move, !! a brilliant move
• ? a mistake, ?? a blunder
• !? an interesting move, worth trying
• ?! a dubious move
• 1-0 White won, 0-1 Black won, ½-½ a draw

Practise on the Opera Game

The best way to learn notation is to play through a famous game on a real board. In 1858, at the opera house in Paris, the American Paul Morphy played this game against two opponents consulting together, the Duke of Brunswick and Count Isouard. Set up the pieces and play every move:

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 Bg4 4.dxe5 Bxf3 5.Qxf3 dxe5 6.Bc4 Nf6 7.Qb3 Qe7 8.Nc3 c6 9.Bg5 b5 10.Nxb5 cxb5 11.Bxb5+ Nbd7 12.O-O-O Rd8

Look at the notation as you go. 4.dxe5 is a pawn capture written with the file the pawn came from. 11.Bxb5+ is a capture with check. 11...Nbd7 needs the extra letter b because the other knight, on f6, could also go to d7. 12.O-O-O is queen’s-side castling. Your board should now look like this:

Now finish the game: 13.Rxd7 Rxd7 14.Rd1 Qe6 15.Bxd7+ Nxd7 16.Qb8+!! Nxb8 17.Rd8#, 1-0.

If your final position matches, you can read notation. (For the very old notation in classic books, such as P-K4 for 1.e4, our old notation guide explains it.)

Writing your moves in a tournament

In rated games with a standard (classical) time control, the FIDE Laws of Chess require each player to write down every move, their own and their opponent’s, on the scoresheet, clearly and in order. A few rules children must know:

• Make the move on the board first, then write it. It is forbidden to write a move in advance (the only exceptions are a draw claim and adjournment).
• You may reply to your opponent’s move before writing it down, but you must write your previous move before making another.
• If you have less than five minutes left on your clock, and the time control does not add 30 seconds or more per move, you do not have to keep writing until that time period ends.
• In rapid games (more than 10 and less than 60 minutes each), players do not need to record the moves.
• The scoresheet belongs to the organiser. At the end, both players sign both scoresheets with the result.

Tips: write in English letters, which is what arbiters expect in Indian tournaments; write the move number before White’s move; if you are unsure what your opponent played, look at the board, not at their scoresheet.

Practise it on Chess Castles

• Blindfold Gym: puzzles you solve by typing the move in notation, which makes the letters automatic.
• The one-minute Vision Sprint asks quick questions about squares, colours and diagonals with no board in sight.
• Every game you play here has its moves in notation in the Game Report; read them back after each game.
• Read next: how the pieces move and your first FIDE-rated tournament in India.

Questions children ask

Read next

• Your first FIDE-rated tournament in India: AICF registration, FIDE ID and getting a first rating
• How to analyse your own chess games: a simple method that works for kids and adults