ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Chess notation

Chess notation is like a secret code that helps people remember how their chess game went without having to remember all the moves in their head.

Each chess piece has a special letter that stands for it. For example, "K" stands for King, "Q" stands for Queen, "R" stands for Rook, "B" stands for Bishop, "N" stands for Knight, and nothing stands for a Pawn.

The board is divided into rows and columns. The letters A through H represent the columns and the numbers 1 through 8 represent the rows. So, the square in the bottom left corner of the board is called A1, and the square in the top right corner of the board is called H8.

To use chess notation, you write down the letter and number for the square where the piece is moving from, and then the letter and number for the square where it is moving to. For example, if a White pawn moves from square E2 to square E4, you would write "e2-e4".

If a piece captures another piece, you add an "x" in the notation to show that one piece was taken. So, if a Black Bishop captures a White Pawn on square F2, you would write "Bxf2". If two pieces of the same type can move to the same square, you might need to add the letter of the file (column) that the piece is on to differentiate them.

In addition, certain special moves have their own notation. Castling is written as "O-O" for Kingside castling and "O-O-O" for Queenside castling, while en passant is written as "e.p." after the move.

Finally, you can add symbols at the end of the notation to show what happened during the game. A "+" means that the move put the other player's King in check, while a "#" means that the move checkmated the other player's King and ended the game.

Overall, chess notation helps players keep track of their games and analyze them later to improve their skills.