Squares
Files run a to h from white's left. Ranks run 1 to 8 from white's side. A square is its file then its rank, so the pawn that moved two squares at the start of this game stands on e4.
Pieces
Each piece has a capital letter. The knight is N, because K is the king. Pawns have no letter: a pawn move is just the square.
| King | K |
| Queen | Q |
| Rook | R |
| Bishop | B |
| Knight | N |
| Pawn | no letter |
So Nf3 is a knight to f3, and e5 is a pawn to e5.
Signs
A few signs cover everything else.
| x | takes | Bxf3 |
| + | check | Bxb5+ |
| # | mate | Rd8# |
| O-O | castles king side | O-O |
| O-O-O | castles queen side | O-O-O |
| =Q | promotes to a queen | e8=Q |
When two of the same piece could reach a square, add the file or rank it came from: Nbd7 means the knight on the b-file goes to d7.
En passant
A pawn that moves two squares from its starting rank can be taken by an enemy pawn as if it had moved only one, but only on the very next move. Write the square the capturing pawn lands on: after 2...d5 here, White's pawn on e5 can take on d6, written exd6. The Laws allow e.p. after it; PGN leaves it out.
Promotion is written with the new piece after the square, as e8=Q. The FIDE Laws write it without the equals sign, e8Q, and castling with zeros, 0-0; PGN and most apps use e8=Q and the letter O. Either is understood.
When to write each move
Write each move after it is played, never before. You may reply to your opponent's move before writing it down, but write your previous move before you make another. Under five minutes with no increment of 30 seconds or more, the Laws let you stop writing until the time control.
A whole game
The Opera Game, played by Paul Morphy in Paris in 1858, uses almost every sign in seventeen moves.
- 1.e4e5
- 2.Nf3d6
- 3.d4Bg4
- 4.dxe5Bxf3
- 5.Qxf3dxe5
- 6.Bc4Nf6
- 7.Qb3Qe7
- 8.Nc3c6
- 9.Bg5b5
- 10.Nxb5cxb5
- 11.Bxb5+Nbd7
- 12.O-O-ORd8
- 13.Rxd7Rxd7
- 14.Rd1Qe6
- 15.Bxd7+Nxd7
- 16.Qb8+Nxb8
- 17.Rd8#
General information, written 4 November 2026, not an arbiter's ruling. Notation follows the FIDE Laws of Chess in force from 1 January 2023 (Appendix C); events can have their own rules for scoresheets and the Laws change, so check the current FIDE Handbook or your event's rules before you rely on this.