Algebraic notation is the standard, worldwide system for writing down chess moves. It names every square with a letter (the file, a–h) and a number (the rank, 1–8), then describes each move as a piece letter + destination square — so Nf3 means “knight to f3.” It’s the language every chess book, app, and puzzle speaks.
The whole system rests on the board’s coordinate grid: files a–h run left to right from White’s side, ranks 1–8 run bottom to top. Squares get a fixed address (e4, g7, a1) that never flips, whichever color you’re playing.
A worked example
Here’s the opening of the Italian Game, written in algebraic notation:
1. e4 e5
2. Nf3 Nc6
3. Bc4 Bc5Read it as move pairs — White first, then Black. Move 1: pawn to e4, pawn to e5. Move 2: knight to f3, knight to c6. Move 3: bishop to c4, bishop to c5. That’s it.
The pieces use one capital letter each; pawns get none:
| Symbol | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| K Q R B N | King, Queen, Rook, Bishop, Knight | Qd1, Nf3 |
| (no letter) | Pawn move — just the square | e4 |
x | Capture | Bxe5, exd5 |
+ | Check | Qh5+ |
# | Checkmate | Qxf7# |
O-O / O-O-O | Castle kingside / queenside | O-O |
= | Pawn promotion | e8=Q |
One quirk: pawn captures name the pawn’s starting file first — exd5 means “the e-pawn captures on d5.” And when two identical pieces could reach the same square, you disambiguate with the starting file or rank: Nbd2 means “the knight from the b-file goes to d2.”
Related terms
- PGN — the file format that stores a whole game written in algebraic notation.
- FEN — a one-line snapshot of a single position.
- Full walkthrough: chess notation explained and how the pieces move.
- Back to the chess glossary.
Mini-FAQ
Why is the knight “N” and not “K”? K was already taken by the king, so the knight grabbed the next best letter, N.
Is algebraic notation the same everywhere? Yes — FIDE made it the official standard in 1981, replacing the older, clunkier descriptive notation (“P-K4”). The a1–h8 grid is universal.
Written and fact-checked by the Chess Lab Academy Editorial Team (AI-assisted, human-edited) · Notation rules cross-checked against the FIDE Laws of Chess (Appendix C) and Wikipedia; example moves legality-verified with python-chess · Last verified 2026-07-13 · Sources · How we verify content.