Skip to main content

Chess Notation

This guide uses standard algebraic notation and FEN strings. Here's a quick reference.

Algebraic Notation​

Pieces​

SymbolPiece
KKing
QQueen
RRook
BBishop
NKnight
(none)Pawn

Moves​

  • e4 — Pawn to e4
  • Nf3 — Knight to f3
  • Bxc6 — Bishop captures on c6
  • O-O — Kingside castling
  • O-O-O — Queenside castling
  • e8=Q — Pawn promotes to queen
  • Rd1+ — Rook to d1, check
  • Qh7# — Queen to h7, checkmate

Disambiguation​

When two identical pieces can move to the same square:

  • Rad1 — Rook from the a-file to d1
  • R1d3 — Rook from the 1st rank to d3
  • Qh4e1 — Queen from h4 to e1 (rare)

FEN Notation​

FEN (Forsyth-Edwards Notation) describes a position in a single line of text.

Example​

rnbqkbnr/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 0 1

This is the starting position.

Structure​

[piece placement] [side to move] [castling] [en passant] [halfmove] [fullmove]
  1. Piece placement — Ranks 8 to 1, separated by /. Lowercase = black, uppercase = white. Numbers = empty squares.
  2. Side to move — w (white) or b (black).
  3. Castling rights — K (white kingside), Q (white queenside), k (black kingside), q (black queenside), or - if none.
  4. En passant target — The square behind a pawn that just moved two squares, or -.
  5. Halfmove clock — Moves since the last pawn move or capture (for the 50-move rule).
  6. Fullmove number — Increments after black's move.

Endgame FEN Examples​

PositionFEN
K+Q vs K4k3/8/8/8/8/8/8/4K2Q w - - 0 1
Lucena1K1k4/1P6/8/8/8/8/r7/2R5 w - - 0 1
Philidor8/8/8/8/4k3/4p3/4K3/4R3 w - - 0 1

Using FEN​

  1. Copy the FEN string from any position in this guide.
  2. Paste it into Lichess Analysis or your preferred tool.
  3. Analyze with engine assistance or practice against Stockfish.

Next: How to Use This Guide →