Chess players need to analyze moves, reproduce them, analyze the games of colleagues and solve chess problems to improve their skills.
To do this, they came up with a notation – a language in which you can write down a sequence of moves.
Today, technology has given players chess programs that can fix the game. However, it is forbidden for participants to record moves in tournaments this way – this can only be done by hand.
Today we will analyze chess notation and explain what players write down and how to do it correctly.
What Do Chess Players Write Down and Why?
Even at a low level, competitive chess games require players to write down moves using algebraic chess notation on a chess notation sheet.
However, you may be asking yourself why they need these descriptive notations at all? After all, when you play other board games, you don’t record your moves.
Well, several reasons in chess make it obvious why they are so useful.
The biggest reason is that you can’t participate in chess tournaments if you don’t know how to write correctly.
Why? If there is a problem in the game or dispute, the arbiter ready to help you in these cases must be aware of the game’s progress.
This makes it easier for any arbiter to look at a notated chess sheet or scoresheet with clear evidence rather than relying on the players’ memory.
Writing Down Helps Chess Players Develop
Another reason to use algebraic chess notation is that you can use your notes to review critical moments in your games and analyze where you could do better.
If you’re serious about getting better, you should do it every time you play.
As soccer players talk and reflect on their previous matches, a chess player must always analyze his games to improve his skills.
There is a lesson in all chess games, but you can only extract it if you have a record of the game on a sheet with chess notation. The shortest pencil is longer than the longest memory.
The Value of Game Recording
For players who frequently participate in tournaments, it makes sense to use their notations to save their games in chess databases.
If you have saved your games in a database, such as the famous ChessBase, you can analyze your games using the chess engine.
Where to Write Down Moves?
The chess notation sheet or scoresheet is where each player must document their play.
In addition, each player must write down the names of both players, the name of the event with the round number, the date, the result, and most importantly, all the moves that are made throughout the game.
The extra information you write down on your scoresheet could be the time remaining on the clock if you are a player who often gets into time trouble.
Other notes may relate to special claims during the game, very important – draw offers or other relevant data. Moreover, the score sheet must be visible to the arbiter throughout the game.
How to Write the Position of the Pieces During a Game
To understand the notation, kindly take a look at the chessboard.
Imagine the horizontals on it virtually marked with numbers from 1 to 8, and the verticals – with letters from a to h. Each cell has its coordinates – the point of intersection of these lines on the field.
To mark the position of a figure, you must first write down the letter of the vertical on which it is located and then the number of the horizontal.
How to write down moves
Now, knowing the coordinates of the cells, we can record the moves.
To do this, you must first fix the initial position of the figure, then put a dash and write the coordinates of the destination point.
There are separate designations for castling in chess: 0-0 (for short) and 0-0-0 (for long).
How Does Chess Notation Work?
- The chess notation combines the moving chess piece with the new square it moved to on the chessboard.
- In chess notation, abbreviations written in capital letters are used for each piece.
- King = K, Queen = Q, Bishop = B, Knight = N, Rook = R, Pawn = no symbol.
- When capturing an enemy piece, a cross is placed between the moving piece and the square on which the captured piece was located.
- When the opponent’s king is in check, a “+” sign is added at the end of the notation.
- Castling on the kingside is written as “0-0”. Castling on the queenside is marked “0-0-0”.
Knowing the algebraic chess notation will allow you to study well-known games from recent years and will also allow you to follow instructions.
You can’t learn from a teacher if you don’t speak his language, and chess notation has become the lingua franca of the King’s Game.
The Difference Between Full Chess Notation and Short Chess Notation
There are two options for how to write a move-in notation. The one we covered above is considered complete.
When we use it, we write the designation of the cell where the piece was originally located and the one where it ended its move.
According to the rules of short notation in chess, the starting point is omitted, and only the end cell is written down.
Chess Notation in Different Languages
The most common notation is the English algebraic chess notation, but this is not the only notation. This is how you can see the algebraic notation used in French, German and Spanish.
Spain: R rey (king) D Dama/reina (lady/queen) T torre (tower/rook) A alfil (elephant) C caballo (horse/steed) Péon (foot soldier/pawn)
France: R roi (king) D dame (lady/queen) T tour (tower/rook) F fou (jester/bishop) C cavalier (rider/knight) P pion (pawn)
Germany: K König (king) D Dama (queen/queen), T Turm (tower/rook) L Läufer (runner/elephant) S Springer (jumper/knight) B Bauer (peasant)
On the example of the opening of Reti, you can see:
- 1.Cf3 Cf6 2.c4 c5 3.g3 g6 4.Fg2 in French
- 1.Sf3 Sf6 2.c4 c5 3.g3 g6 4.Lg2 in German
- 1.Cf3 Cf6 2.c4 c5 3.g3 g6 4. Ag2 in Spanish
What to Do If a Player Can’t Keep Score?
If the player cannot keep score, he must provide an assistant, approved by the arbiter, to perform the chess notation.
If neither player records the moves, for example, in a very fast time control such as Blitz, the arbiter or assistant should keep the score sheet, and the players should check it immediately after the game.
When no one has written down the moves, the players must restore the game on the second board.
If the clock has less than 5 minutes left and no 30 seconds have been added for each move, the player is not required to record any moves.
Another important rule is that you are not allowed to record your move before you have actually moved a piece on the board. This is because your coach may be giving you signs of a good move or not, which would be cheating.
At the end of the game, each player must write down the result and sign both sheets of chess symbols to confirm their agreement.
