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Chess rules · beginner

Chess Notation

Follow a game written in notation: play White's moves yourself.

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touch_appLearn it by doing: read the short explanation, then play it on the board.

Quick answer

Chess notation writes each move as the piece's letter plus the square it goes to: K king, Q queen, R rook, B bishop, N knight, and no letter for a pawn. So Nf3 is a knight to f3 and e4 a pawn to e4. Extra symbols: x capture, + check, # checkmate, O-O castling, =Q promotion.

Step by step

A game is written as numbered moves: 1.e4 e5 means White played e4, then Black played e5. That's move 1. Now you read the score and play White's moves on the board. Black's replies appear by themselves.
Chess moves are written down so you can read games, books and the coach's tips. Each piece has a capital letter: K king, Q queen, R rook, B bishop and N knight (K is already the king). Pawns have no letter.
A move is the piece letter, then the square it goes to. Nf3 means a knight goes to f3. A pawn move is just the square: e4 means a pawn goes to e4.
To read a move, find the piece by its letter, then the square after it. Nc3: a knight goes to c3. Only the knight on b1 can reach c3, so that's the one that moves.
A few symbols say what else happened: • x = a capture: Nxe5 means a knight captures on e5. • + = check: Qh5+. • # = checkmate: Qxf7#.
• O-O = castling kingside, O-O-O = castling queenside. • e8=Q = a pawn reaches e8 and becomes a queen. When two pieces of the same kind can reach a square, a file or rank is added: Nbd2 means the knight from the b-file goes to d2.

Test yourself

quizAnswer on the board. It's the same drill as in the app, no account needed.

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Common mistakes

  • Using K for the knight. K is the king; the knight is N.
  • Writing the square the piece came from instead of the one it goes to. Nf3 names the landing square.
  • Mixing up O-O (kingside, short) and O-O-O (queenside, long).

Tips from the lesson

  • Number = move number, then White's move, then Black's.
  • K king, Q queen, R rook, B bishop, N knight; no letter for a pawn.
  • Letter = which piece, square = where it goes.
  • x capture, + check, # mate, O-O castle, =Q promote.

FAQ

What does x mean in chess notation?add

A capture. Bxf7 means a bishop captures the piece on f7; a pawn capture names the pawn's file, as in exd5.

What do + and # mean?add

+ means the move gives check and # means checkmate. You'll also see ! for a good move and ? for a mistake.

Why is the knight N and not K?add

K is already the king, so the knight gets N, its second letter.

How do you write which piece moves when two can reach the same square?add

Add the file or rank it comes from: Nbd2 is the knight on the b-file, R1e2 the rook on the 1st rank.