Here's the layout for algebraic notation. I also provided a note or two about other notation systems & other stuff you need to know.
When you set up the board, three things should occur
1) The lower right-hand corner is a white or light square
2) The files or columns should be labeled a through h with a being
White's leftmost file & h being White's rightmost file.
3) The ranks or rows are labeled 1 through 8 with 1 being closest to
White & 8 being closest to Black.
Each move has a few basic components to it.
1) A capital letter signifies a piece, except no capital letter means
you have a pawn.
King = K, Queen = Q, Rook = R, Bishop = B, Knight = N (to distinguish
from the King)
2) The next letter is lowercase, & refers to the destination file of the
piece being moved.
3) The number that follows is the destination row of the piece being
moved.
Ex./ Nf3 means a Knight is moving to the square located on file f & row
3.
4) If more than one piece can move to a square, insert the starting file
or row in between the piece & the destination file. Default is the file
unless the pieces are on the same file.
Ex. A knight on d3 & a knight on f3. To move a knight to e5, you would
say Nde5 if you wanted to move the knight on d3, & Nf35 if you wanted to
move the knight on f3.
Ex. A knight on f7 & f3. You want to move a knight to g5. You have to
specify between N7g5 & N3g5.
Promotion
I'll just write examples here.
f8=Q
f8(Q)
Both are equally preferred & used.
Special Notations regarding Check, Checkmate.
These all go after the move, just to avoid interfering in move
interpretation. Again, I'll just write examples here.
Check: Nf3+ or Nf3 ch. (The former is preferred, & the latter actually
belongs to a different notation system, but it's been used in algebraic
notation frequently enough)
Checkmate: Rxf8++ or Rxf8 mate or Rxf8#
Discovered & Double Check is not differentiated in algebraic notation,
but is differentiated in descriptive notation (more below)
Warning: Some publishers use ++ as double check, but it's often confused
with checkmate, so this isn't too common & has rarified with time.
Results
When writing down a result
1-0 means White wins
0-1 means Black wins
1/2-1/2 means there is a draw
(This comes at the end of the score sheet used to record the moves of
the game, usually provided by tournaments)
Other Notations
There are other notation systems, such as Longhand Algebraic notation, Figurine Algebraic Notation, & Descriptive Notation.
Longhand Al. Notation
Longhand Al. Notation inserts the starting square in between the piece &
the destination square. Use dashes to separate the squares.
Ex./ Nc3-d5, d2-24, Ra1-f1
Figurine Algebraic Notation uses symbols to represent every piece except
the pawn, which is symbol-less. Practical for publishers to avoid
language problems with pieces, but impractical for realtime recording
(by the player)
Descriptive Notation - If you can master this, you can master any
notation. This come from the old English times, where they actually use
the King's side of the board & the Queen's side of the board to tell
which piece is moving to which square. If you'd like more information,
I'll be happy to give it to you, but Algebraic Notation is much simpler
& faster.
They do say "dis. ch." & "dbl. ch." when they mean "discovered check" &
"double check", respectively.
That's all for the present
- please direct any questions to sshah75@stevens.edu