Chess is a game of strategy
and tactics.
How to Understand Algebraic Notation in Newer
Chess Strategy Books
|
by Chad Kimball
"Notation" is a method in chess strategy books that
is used to describe the movement of pieces on the
chess board, without needing a visual diagram of the
chess board for each move. It greatly increases a
chess author's ability to describe a large number
of chess games in compact form, leaving more room
for game analysis. It also allows the author to concentrate
on chess strategies and tactics, rather than requiring
hundreds and hundreds of cumbersome diagrams of the
chess board for each move.
If you are a chess player, aspiring to improve through
strategy books, understanding the two chess notation
styles is crucial to your improvement. Most chess
strategy books are either written in "Descriptive
Notation," or "Algebraic Notation."
Descriptive Notation, in general, was used in older
chess books and magazines, although it is possible
to run into more current chess literature using this
notation style as well. Nevertheless, the fact that
any book or magazine written before 1970 probaby uses
descriptive notation makes it worth knowing.
However, Algebriac notation is the topic of our current
discussion. Algebraic notation is the most widely
used form of notation today, found on websites, in
chess software, in chess books, magazines, and other
literature. Understanding algebraic notation is crucial
to your growth as a chess player.
I've posted a visual diagram of a chess board describing
algebraic notation on my chess game strategies site
http://www.chessvictory.com.
Scroll to the bottom, and click on the resources link
to access the diagram.
In chess literature, the term "rank" refers to the
rows of the chess board. "File" refers to the columns.
If a chess book talks about the "1st rank" it means
the "first row." The "a file" refers to the "a column."
In algebraic chess notation, each row (rank) of
the chess board is assigned a number from 1 to 8,
beginning with the white side. Each column (file)
is described with a letter from a to h, going from
left to right from the white side.
Each square is described by a letter/number combination
according to the intersection of the column and row
that both contain that square. As you will see from
the diagram on my website that I mentioned above,
the uppermost square, farthest to the right a1. The
lowermost square, farthest to the left is h8. (If
you are sitting on the "white's" side of the board).
Each piece is denoted by a single letter: R for rook,
N for knight, Q for Queen, and so on. A move is described
by first listing the piece that is moving, then the
square that it is moving to. In algebraic notation,
the letter for pawn is always left out.
Examples: Qe8 means the queen moved to square e8.
If you see f4 by itself, that means a pawn moved to
f4.
You may ask, how can I tell if a white piece or a
black piece is the one moving? This is a good question
if you are just starting out, however, you will find
that when you are reading algebraic notation of a
game, following it move by move, it will be very clear
which piece is moving because
1) most of the pieces can only move on certain squares
of the board (for instance, the bishop must stay on
its own colored squares) and
2) as you are following a game closely, you will
find yourself remembering the positions of the pieces
from move to move, and it will be clear which piece
is the one moving, whether white or black.
However, there are times when, even given the above
facts, it will be unclear which piece is moving. In
this case, the file of the moving piece is inserted
immediately after the letter describing that piece.
For instance instead of Rb6, Rdb6 would be used to
indicate that the rook in the d column (file) is the
one that is moving to b6. In the event that the file
is the same for both pieces, rank is used instead
of file, again, immediately after the letter describing
the piece that is moving.
Important notes:
Castling is shown by O-O or O-O-O. Pawn promotion
is described by adding the letter of the promoting
piece to the move: f1Q means that the pawn moved to
f1, and was promoted to a queen. Pawn promotion could
also be described with an equal sign or a slash (f1/Q,
or f1=Q). Capture and check are sometimes noted, but
often they are simply implied by the square that the
piece is moving to. When described, capture is denoted
with a "+" (RxB7 means a rook moved to square B7 and
captured a piece. Without the x, the capture is simply
notead as Rb7). Check is described with a "+" as in
Rf6+, which means that a rook moved to square f6 and
gives check. Without the +, this move which gives
check is simply Rf6. En passant with pawns is simply
described by following the move with the letters "e.
p." The best way to become familiar with algebraic
notation is to go to my chess strategies and chess
tactics site http://www.chessvictory.com, scroll to
the bottom, and click on the resources link. On that
page I've posted a diagram for the chessboard in algebraic
notation, as well as part of a game written in algebraic
notation. This partial game includes clear diagrams
of the chess board to make it clear which piece is
moving. Once you get the hang of what the symbols
mean, I'd encourage you to find some sample games
written in algebraic notation and sit down with a
real, physical chess board and go through the whole
game, moving the pieces as the notation describes.
After doing th at a few times you'll find yourself
more comfortable with this style of notation than
you imagined! In fact you'll get so good at it that
you can read it as fast as you are reading this sentence,
and you'll see the movements of the pieces clearly
in your mind!
About the Author
Chad Kimball publishes chess instruction books
and courses on the Internet. He is responsible for
bringing an exciting resource to the Internet: "The
Grandmaster Strategy Training Library." Click here
for more information on this 14 Volume Chess Resource:
http://www.chessvictory.com.
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