#Diagram chess pieces moves how to#
#Diagram chess pieces moves plus#

For example, a bishop checking the king by moving to g4 would be noted like this: Bg4+.

#Diagram chess pieces moves plus#

CheckĪ check is indicated by adding a plus sign (+) right after the destination square. fxe4 means the pawn on the f-file captured a piece on e4. Since the pawn doesn’t have a capitalized letter as an abbreviation, we specify the pawn used for the capture by adding the file from which it departed. For example, the notation Qxf3 indicates that the queen just captured a piece on f3.

Whenever a piece captures another, we indicate that by adding an “x” just before the end square. If the rook on the b-file were to move to e4, we would note: Rbe4 (Rook on the b-file moves to e4). If the rook on the e-file were to move to e4, we would note: Ree4 (Rook on the e-file moves to e4). Hence, we need to specify which rook we mean. Let’s look at an example: chess notation – rook exampleīoth of our rooks could move to the e4 square. When two identical pieces can move to the same square, we need to uniquely identify the correct one, by naming either When using short algebraic notation, it might not always be clear which piece exactly we mean. However, in certain cases two of our pieces can reach the same square. This is the preferred form of notation, as it is faster and requires less writing. Usually it is enough to just use the end square, so the previous example would be written as Qa3. This is called the long algebraic notation, as we write down both the starting, and end squares of the piece. So if our queen moved from a6 to a3, we would write down: Qa6-a3. Essentially, we write down which piece moved to which square. The basic principles behind recording chess moves are easy. Please do not ask why chess players do this we also don’t have a clue. The pawn remains without a capital letter in chess notation. The Knight is abbreviated with the letter N, since the K is already used by the King. Usually, it is just the first letter of the piece. The abbreviations are not very difficult to remember. But for our notation to make sense, we need to take a look at how each piece is identified. The white queen for example, starts the game on d1 the black king on e8, and all of White’s pawns start on the second row. To make it more understandable, we paid our graphic designer extra, so he could create this beautiful graphic ✨ (ok, maybe it was just slapped together in Excel): All 64 Squares Uniquely Identified The rank closest to the Black player are all “8-squares”, the rank closest to White are all “1-squares”. Each square gets assigned a unique number from 1 to 8. The same concept is applied to the numbers. Obviously, the order is reversed for Black: the left-most squares start with the letter h, while the right-most are “a-squares”. Naming the Squares for Chess NotationĪs we said, each of the 64 squares on the chess board gets a unique combination of a letter and number.įrom White’s perspective, the squares are ordered left-to-right with letters from a to h.

#Diagram chess pieces moves how to#

Let’s dive into how to write down your chess moves✍🏻.

That way we can accurately track what piece moves to which square on a certain move. You might have seen the letters and numbers on the edge of a chess board – those are critical for algebraic notation.Īlongside the uniquely identifiable squares, we abbreviate each piece with a capitalized letter. The Basics of Algebraic NotationĪlgebraic notation notation is based on a coordinate system, which allows us to uniquely identify each square on the chess board.

So for this guide: chess notation = algebraic notation. There are a few other methods of noting chess moves, such as:īut we’ll just focus on algebraic notation, as it is the one most commonly used and accepted. Nowadays, the gold standard of chess notation is called algebraic notation – don’t worry, it has nothing to do with math 🧮. So let’s take a look at how exactly you can write down your chess moves. Being able to replay your games and learn from mistakes is essential to becoming a better chess player. This is both mandatory in a lot of tournaments, as well as helpful for improving your chess 📈. recording) all chess moves played in a game. Chess Notation: How To Write Down Your MovesĬhess notation refers to the process of writing down (i.