Every square has a permanent name
Chess notation starts with a letter and a number. Files run from a through h, and ranks from 1 through 8. From White’s side, a1 is the near left corner. Flipping the board changes your view, not the names of the squares.
A square such as f3 is simply where a piece starts or finishes. Practice finding e4, d5, f7, and c6 before reading a whole line of moves. Coordinates make a board description precise enough for someone else to replay.
Read the SAN move labels while stepping through this short opening line.
Position FEN
rnbqkbnr/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 0 1Read the piece, the capture, and the destination
In English algebraic notation, K means king, Q queen, R rook, B bishop, and N knight. Pawns have no initial piece letter. Nf3 means a knight moves to f3; e4 means a pawn moves to e4.
An x marks a capture. Bxe5 means a bishop captures on e5. A pawn capture includes its starting file, as in exd5: the e-pawn captures on d5. A plus sign marks check, and # marks checkmate.
If two pieces of the same type can legally reach the same square, notation adds enough information to distinguish them. Nbd2 selects the knight from the b-file. R1e2 selects the rook from rank 1. You need the starting position to know which moves are legal.
Recognize special moves and game results
O-O means kingside castling, and O-O-O means queenside castling. Promotion names the new piece, as in e8=Q. A capture-promotion with check can look like gxh8=N+. En passant is normally recorded like an ordinary pawn capture; the position and previous move establish the special rule.
The notation 1. e4 e5 contains White’s first move and Black’s reply. A line beginning 12...Nf6 starts with Black’s twelfth move. Results use 1–0 for a White win, 0–1 for a Black win, and ½–½ for a draw; PGN text commonly writes the draw as 1/2-1/2. An asterisk in PGN indicates an unfinished or unknown result.
Pause at any move in a diagram, then open that exact position in Chat to ask about it or in Coach to practice.
PGN stores the game around the moves
PGN is a text format for sharing chess games. It can include tags describing the players, event, and result, followed by the moves. Standard Algebraic Notation, usually abbreviated SAN, is the compact move notation you see inside it.
A PGN beginning from a custom position uses a SetUp tag with value 1 and a FEN tag describing the starting board. Without that context, the same move text may be impossible to replay correctly. A composed teaching line should be identified as such rather than assigned invented player names or a tournament result.
Turn the symbols into a position you understand
Replay 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5. White’s knight attacks the e5 pawn, Black’s knight develops while defending it, and White’s bishop then pressures that knight. Each short token records a concrete change on the board.
Pause after 2...Nc6 and name whose turn comes next. Then find the bishop on f1 and trace its diagonal to b5. If you can connect the move text to that route, the notation is doing its job.
When reviewing your own game, use notation to save the exact moment you want to understand. A question tied to a position and move is easier to investigate than a general impression that the opening went wrong.
Check your understanding
Continue learning
Sources and editorial notes
Examples are composed for teaching unless stated otherwise. Legal replay is checked with chess.js; this does not prove that every composed position arose in a real game. Demonstration lines illustrate an idea and are not claimed to be the unique best defense.
Report a correction