Reference
How to Read Chess Notation (PGN and FEN)
Three formats cover everything in chess: algebraic notation for moves, PGN for whole games, FEN for single positions. Ten minutes here and every chess book, website, and engine output becomes readable.
Algebraic notation
Squares are named file-then-rank from White’s left: a1 is White’s bottom-left corner, h8 is Black’s. Pieces are K, Q, R, B, N (knight); pawns get no letter. So Nf3 means "knight to f3" and e4 means "pawn to e4". Captures add x (Bxe5), checks add + and mate adds #. Castling is O-O (kingside) or O-O-O (queenside). When two identical pieces can reach the square, the file or rank disambiguates: Rad1.
PGN: a whole game in text
Portable Game Notation wraps the moves in numbered pairs — 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 — preceded by header tags in brackets like [White "Carlsen"]. Every chess site exports it; every analysis tool reads it. Paste any PGN into a viewer and replay the game move by move.
FEN: a snapshot of one position
Forsyth–Edwards Notation describes a position in one line: piece placement rank by rank from Black’s side (uppercase = White), then whose turn, castling rights, en passant square, and move counters. It is how positions are shared, bookmarked, and fed to engines.
Paste a PGN or FEN into the free viewer