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Visual chess notation trainer
Practice chess-board coordinates and decode English algebraic move destinations on a visual board. Free square and notation exercises with keyboard controls.
Practice coordinates and destination squares in English algebraic notation: K king, Q queen, R rook, B bishop, N knight. Pawns have no piece letter.
Find e4
Coordinates stay the same when the board view changes. 0 first-try answers / 0 questions completed.
Keyboard: Tab into the board, use arrow keys to move, and press Enter or Space to answer. Home and End move across a row. You can also type a coordinate below.
Choose the requested square.
This empty board is a coordinate diagram, not a legal chess position. The trainer reads destinations; it does not test whether a move is legal. Castling needs its own board context and is not practiced here. Promotion examples include printed FIDE notation such as exf8N and the commonly used equals-sign form e8=Q.
Read a square or move destination
Files use a–h and ranks use 1–8. The square name stays fixed when the board is turned. These examples explain notation; the empty training board does not establish a legal move or position.
| Example | How to read it | Destination |
|---|---|---|
e4 | Square on file e, rank 4. As a move, a pawn arrives there. | e4 |
Nf3 | N identifies a knight. | f3 |
Bxe6 | A bishop captures; x marks the capture. | e6 |
Qh5+ | A queen moves to h5; + marks check. | h5 |
Rxd8# | A rook captures on d8; # marks checkmate. | d8 |
Nbd2 | The knight’s starting file is b; d2 is its arrival square. | d2 |
R1e2 | The rook’s starting rank is 1; e2 is its arrival square. | e2 |
Reference: FIDE Laws of Chess, Appendix C: algebraic notation.
Continue with 30 chess notation questions and explained answers, or practice board coordinates.