Descriptive notation is a chess notation system based on abbreviated natural language. Its distinctive features are that it refers to files by the piece that occupies the back rank square in the starting position and that it describes each square two ways depending on whether it is from White or Black's point of view. It was common in English, Spanish and French chess literature until about 1980. In most other languages, the more concise algebraic notation was in use. Since 1981, FIDE no longer recognizes descriptive notation for the purposes of dispute resolution, and algebraic notation is now the accepted international standard.
Description
Nomenclature
With the exception of the knight, each piece is abbreviated as the first letter of its name: K for king, Q for queen, R for rook, B for bishop, and P for pawn. As knight begins with the same letter as king, it is abbreviated as either N or Kt, the former being the modern convention. In 1944, Chess Review received many letters debating the change from Kt to N.
Each square has two names, depending on the viewpoint of White or Black. Each is given a name corresponding to the piece that occupies the first at the start of the game. Thus, in English descriptive notation the queen's file is named "Q" and the king's file is named "K". Since there are two each of the remaining pieces on the first rank, it is necessary to distinguish between them. The pieces on the queen's side of the board (to White's left; to Black's right) are named with respect to the queen, i.e. "queen's rook", "queen's knight" and "queen's bishop"; and have the shortened names "QR", "QN" and "QB", respectively. Similarly, the pieces on the king's side (White's right; Black's left) are named with respect to the king, i.e. "king's rook", "king's knight" and "king's bishop"; and have the shortened names "KR", "KN" and "KB". The rank is given a number, ranging from 1 to 8, with rank 1 being closest to the player.
This method of naming the squares means that each square has one name from White's point of view and another from Black's. For example, the corner square nearest White's left hand (i.e. square a1 in algebraic notation) is called "queen's rook 1" (QR1) by White and "queen's rook 8" (QR8) by Black.
When recording a move by White, the naming from White's point of view is used; when recording a move by Black, the naming from Black's point of view is used.
Spanish descriptive notation uses a similar system, with a few differences: The initials to identify the pieces are taken from the equivalent Spanish words: R = rey (king), D = dama (queen), T = torre (rook), C = caballo (knight), A = alfil (bishop) and P = peón (pawn). The files are named after the initials of the pieces on the first rank, with those on the queen's side being suffixed by the letter "D", and those on the king's side suffixed by the letter "R". From White's left to right along the first rank this yields: TD, CD, AD, D, R, AR, CR, TR. The dash, which in English descriptive notation symbolizes the word "to", is omitted. The numerical rank is identified before the file, e.g. "4R" is equivalent to "K4" (e4 in algebraic notation).
In Spanish descriptive notation the Sicilian Defence (1. P-K4 P-QB4 in English) would be written 1. P4R P4AD. This is also the method used in French descriptive notation.
Notation for moves
Each move is notated by a sequence of characters that is structured based on the move's type. Special indicators are added to the end of the sequence if relevant.
Non-capturing move: A move without capture is notated by the piece's name, a hyphen and the destination square, e.g. N-QB3 (knight to queen's bishop 3) and P-QN4 (pawn to queen's knight 4). : A capture is notated by the piece's name, a cross ("x"), and the name of the piece captured, e.g. QxN (queen captures knight). Castling: The notation O-O is used for castling and O-O-O for castling . The word "Castles" is sometimes used instead, particularly in older literature, in which case it may be necessary to disambiguate between kingside and queenside castling; this may be done by specifying the rook, i.e. "Castles KR" or "Castles QR". Promotion: Parentheses are used to indicate promotion, with the promotion piece enclosed in parentheses, e.g. P-R8(Q). Sometimes a slash or an equal sign is used, e.g. P-R8/Q, P-R8=Q. Special terms and symbols: Special indicators that are appended to the move include "e.p." (en passant), "ch" or "+" (check), "?" (a question mark for a bad move), "!" (an exclamation mark for a good move), "mate" or "++" (checkmate), "resigns" and "draw".