Many of the great chess books were written in descriptive notation: Nimzowitsch, Capablanca and Fischer were all first read in English this way. If you find 1 P-K4 P-K4 2 N-KB3 N-QB3 on a page, this guide is for you. Once you know three ideas, it reads easily.
Idea 1: files are named after pieces
In descriptive notation the files have no letters. Each takes its name from the piece that starts on it:
- the a-file is the queen's rook file: QR
- b: the queen's knight file: QN (older books: QKt)
- c: the queen's bishop file: QB
- d: the queen file: Q
- e: the king file: K
- f: the king's bishop file: KB
- g: the king's knight file: KN (or KKt)
- h: the king's rook file: KR
Idea 2: each side counts ranks from its own side
Ranks are numbered 1 to 8, but each player counts from their own side of the board. So White's K4 is e4, while Black's K4 is e5. That is why 1 P-K4 P-K4 means 1.e4 e5: both pawns move to "their" fourth rank.
To convert a rank: for White, it is the same number; for Black, take it from 9. Black's KB3 is f6 (9 - 3 = 6).
Idea 3: a move names the piece and where it goes
A move is written as the piece, a dash, and the square: N-KB3 is a knight to KB3, which is Nf3 for White and Nf6 for Black. When there is only one square of that name a piece can reach, the K or Q is often left out: B-N5 for the bishop that can only go to one N5.
The symbols
- - moves to: P-Q4
- x takes, naming the pieces, not the square: PxP is pawn takes pawn, BxN bishop takes knight
- ch or + check
- O-O and O-O-O castling, sometimes written Castles or Castles KR
- e.p. en passant
- (Q) or =Q promotion, as in P-K8(Q)
- Kt is the knight in older books, N in later ones
An example
The opening moves of the Ruy Lopez in both systems:
- Descriptive: 1 P-K4 P-K4 2 N-KB3 N-QB3 3 B-N5
- Algebraic: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5
Read the third move: White's bishop goes to N5. The only N5 it can reach is the queen's knight's: b5.
The hard part: captures
PxP does not say which pawn takes which. The author assumes you can see it on the board, and usually only one capture is possible. When two are possible, they write more, such as KPxP or PxQP. This is why reading descriptive books without a board is hard: the notation leans on the position.
Tips for reading old books
- Keep a board beside you. The notation was designed to be read with one.
- Convert a few moves aloud at first. After a chapter, you will stop converting.
- Watch whose move it is. Black's ranks are flipped, so a Black move written as P-K4 lands on e5.
Reading descriptive books with GreyChess
GreyChess's book reader reads descriptive notation as well as algebraic: open a PDF or ePub you own, and the moves printed after a diagram, such as P-K4 or Kt-KB3, are fitted to the position on the board beside the page and can be played through. Where a move like PxP could mean two different captures, it is not guessed. You can still play the line out on the board yourself, which is the best way to learn the notation anyway.
For the modern notation, see how to read chess notation.