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The Standard Algebraic Notation (SAN) is the most widely used notation for chess moves.
An alternative to SAN is FAN (Figurine Algebraic Notation). FAN uses miniature
piece icons instead of single letter piece abbreviations. The two notations
are otherwise identical.
A detailed description of notation standards can be found
in a separate document.
Squares.
SAN identifies each of the sixty four squares on the chessboard with a unique
two character name. The first character of a square identifier is the file of
the square; a file is a column of eight squares designated by a single lower
case letter from "a" (leftmost or queenside) up to and including "h" (rightmost
or kingside). The second character of a square identifier is the rank of the
square; a rank is a row of eight squares designated by a single digit from "1"
(White's first rank) up to and including "8" (Black's first rank).
Pieces.
SAN identifies each piece by a single upper case letter.
| Pawn | P |
| Knight | N |
| Bishop | B |
| Rook | R |
| Queen | Q |
| King | K |
Move construction.
A basic SAN move is given by listing the moving piece letter (omitted for
pawns) followed by the destination square. Capture moves are denoted by the
lower case letter "x" immediately prior to the destination square; pawn
captures the file letter of the originating square of the capturing
pawn immediately prior to the "x" character (e.g. exd5).
SAN kingside castling is indicated by the sequence "O-O"; queenside castling is
indicated by the sequence "O-O-O". Note that the upper case letter "O" is
used, not the digit zero.
In the case of ambiguities (multiple pieces of the same type moving to the same
square), the originating file letter or the originating rank digit are inserted
immediately after the moving piece letter.
If the move is a checking move, the plus sign "+" is appended as a suffix to
the basic SAN move notation; if the move is a checkmating move, the octothorpe
sign "#" is appended instead.
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