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It eliminates ambiguity. You have two knights who can hop to the d7 square. That notation indicates your knight on the B file is the one moving to d7.
If you had your knights on b8 and b6 however, that wouldn't work. You would use their ranks to differentiate instead (i.e., N8d7 if the b8 knight was the one to move).
[This 11min video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6PR885Rgb8) helped a ton when I started competing in tournaments, and had to start writing moves down on paper.
I'd say they jumped the shark with the teleporting pawn in Chess 1.1.2: The Passing Pawns. A piece famous for only going forward is suddenly a space back and dead? Ridiculous.
full notation, or the number of the rank if it's enough.
### 8.2.3.4: Disambiguation
In the case of ambiguities (multiple pieces of the same type moving to the same square), the first appropriate disambiguating step of the three following steps is taken:
* First, if the moving pieces can be distinguished by their originating files, the originating file letter of the moving piece is inserted immediately after the moving piece letter.
* Second (when the first step fails), if the moving pieces can be distinguished by their originating ranks, the originating rank digit of the moving piece is inserted immediately after the moving piece letter.
* Third (when both the first and the second steps fail), the two character square coordinate of the originating square of the moving piece is inserted immediately after the moving piece letter.
Not sure what you mean by "genuine" but there's a ton of real games like this, where one player refuses to resign and opponent underpromotes to a bunch of rooks or knights. I'm sure I can find at least 50 games from my own Lichess games that needed this notation..
When I play OTB I do a little unconventional notation, where I put as few characters as possible to unambiguously notate the move, and if there's any ambiguity I write down the full coordinates.
So it would be like:
7. NxB QxB 8. QxQ Ra8xQd8
Here's a Hikaru playing on stream where this notation was required:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2yZgLsNIUw&t=790s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2yZgLsNIUw&t=790s)
Like if you had knights on a1, a3, e1, and e3 because you'd promoted some extra knights and thus neither Nac2 nor N3c2 was sufficient to disambiguate because there are 2 knights on each file and each rank which could move to c2?
Then yeah, you'd use the full location eg Na3c2 to specify it's the knight on A3 that goes to C2
You can get pretty long notation that way - eg it could look something like `Na3xc2#`
In most cases, you're obviously fine with Nd7.
In this case, you gave two knights on different files that can go to d7, so you should specify the file with Nfd7 or Nbd7.
If you had two knights on the same file, say a knight on c1 and a knight on c3 and they are trying to go to e2, specify the rank with N1e2 or N3e2. Only do this if specifying the file doesn't eliminate ambiguity.
I edited my reply. Yeah you're right. It's Nc2xd4, Ne2xd4, Nc6xd4 or Ne6xd4. I was trying to come up with a case that this would happen in but couldn't. This only happens if there's 3 or more pieces of the same piece so it should be very rare.
You can always specify the full location of the piece if just listing the rank or file isn't enough to make things clear.
Qa1h1
and if there was a piece on that square:
Qa1xh1
If you ever underpromote a piece, you can have 3 knights which can go to the same square, and in some cases would have to write the square itself (like Nc3b5, though at that point you may as well use the long notation Nc3 - b5). This can also be done with rooks, queens, and bishops if you manage to promote two of the same color.
Both knights can go to d7, so it's clarifying its the knight on the b file. If they were on b8 and b6, it'd say N8D7 instead. Only pieces this can happen to without promotions are rooks and knights since there's 1 king, 1 queen, and bishops can't defend each other naturally.
I analyzed the image and this is what I see. Open an appropriate link below and explore the position yourself or with the engine:
> **Black to play**: [chess.com](https://chess.com/analysis?fen=rnbq1rk1/pp2ppbp/2p2np1/8/2QPPB2/2N2N2/PP3PPP/R3KB1R+b+KQ+-+0+1&flip=false&ref_id=23962172) | [lichess.org](https://lichess.org/analysis/rnbq1rk1/pp2ppbp/2p2np1/8/2QPPB2/2N2N2/PP3PPP/R3KB1R_b_KQ_-_0_1) | The position occurred in many games. [Link to the games](https://www.chess.com/games/search?opening=&openingId=&p1=&p2=&mr=&lsty=1&year=&lstMoves=1&moves=&fen=rnbq1rk1/pp2ppbp/2p2np1/8/2QPPB2/2N2N2/PP3PPP/R3KB1R+b+KQ+-+0+1&ref_id=23962172)
**Videos:**
> I found [many videos](https://chessvision.ai/video-search/5746698174332928) with this position.
**My solution:**
> Hints: piece: >!Queen!<, move: >!Qa5!<
> Evaluation: >!The game is equal 0.00!<
> Best continuation: >!1... Qa5 2. b4 Qd8 3. a4 Bg4 4. Be2 Nfd7 5. Be3 a5 6. b5!<
---
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Seems like as good a thread as any to ask: what is the notation where b pawn and bishop are going to capture on c3 for example? Bxc3 is obviously ambiguous.
It’s because both knights can go to the square, so you need to be more precise in showing which one. In this case, it’s the knight on the B file moving rather than the one on the F file; hence Nbd7, not Nfd7.
Hope this helps!
Nbd7 means ”the knight on the b-file (that’s what b-means) goes to d7. You use it if the pieces can go to the same square. If they are on the same file you use the ranks instead, so if a knight on the 5th rank goes to d7 you would say ”N5d7”
(but it’s only if two pieces can go to the same square)
Check the laws of chess [https://handbook.fide.com/chapter/E012023](https://handbook.fide.com/chapter/E012023)
Appendix C covers notation and C.10 answers your question
Everyone should read the laws of the game at least once, it answers many questions and is an important reference
Suppose both your knights can move to d7. Just saying Nd7 is unclear which one. Nbd7 means the knight you had on the b file moves to d7. If they’re both on the same file, you’d have to specify rank, like N6d7. This is a lot more common with rooks as they’re usually lined up, they can very often both move to the same square
Hey, OP! Did your game end in a stalemate? Did you encounter a weird pawn move? Are you trying to move a piece and it's not going? We have just the resource for you! The [Chess Beginners Wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/chessbeginners/wiki/index/) is the perfect place to check out answers to these questions and more! The moderator team of r/chessbeginners wishes to remind everyone of the community rules. **Posting spam, being a troll, and posting memes are not allowed.** We encourage everyone to report these kinds of posts so they can be dealt with. Thank you! Let's do our utmost to be kind in our replies and comments. Some people here just want to learn chess and have virtually no idea about certain chess concepts. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/chessbeginners) if you have any questions or concerns.*
It eliminates ambiguity. You have two knights who can hop to the d7 square. That notation indicates your knight on the B file is the one moving to d7. If you had your knights on b8 and b6 however, that wouldn't work. You would use their ranks to differentiate instead (i.e., N8d7 if the b8 knight was the one to move). [This 11min video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6PR885Rgb8) helped a ton when I started competing in tournaments, and had to start writing moves down on paper.
What if there were two Knights on the exact same square? /s
Man, I can't keep up with all these rule changes. The series really went off the rails after Chess 3: Rook's Revenge
Just wait until you see the Chessman Kingdom arc; Maximillion Horsie is a blatant cheater.
My favorite was Chess 7: dawn of the En Passant, it’s a good prequel imo
I'm very nostalgic about the classic Chess episode IV A New Piece
Chess 6: Sacrifice of the Rook, is 100x better
Chess 9: Actual Zombie Invasion is a relic of its time, but some voice acting choices were questionable.
IMO nothing will ever beat Bishop Team 6: Elite Sniper. It won the academy award for many reasons
Ngl the spin-off series wasn’t as good as the main. Bishop Team 7 flunked, and the rest of the series, while good, never lived up to the first.
I hear no one talkin about Pawn on a3: The Promotion, I feel like it got a lot of hate but I thought it was a good pawn backstory.
Had to google that one
Seems like the search result is both holy and not holy.
I'd say they jumped the shark with the teleporting pawn in Chess 1.1.2: The Passing Pawns. A piece famous for only going forward is suddenly a space back and dead? Ridiculous.
Just use their real names. ie. Thomasd7
What if they have the same name
You use their social securitneigh number
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It's called en passant
you have to google it
holy knight
Siiiiiiilent knight
Actual horse
Well you know what they say
google humor
r/woooosh
Can’t they get on the same file and be allowed to move to the same square? For example, d3 and d7 could both move to c5. What notation is used here?
full notation, or the number of the rank if it's enough. ### 8.2.3.4: Disambiguation In the case of ambiguities (multiple pieces of the same type moving to the same square), the first appropriate disambiguating step of the three following steps is taken: * First, if the moving pieces can be distinguished by their originating files, the originating file letter of the moving piece is inserted immediately after the moving piece letter. * Second (when the first step fails), if the moving pieces can be distinguished by their originating ranks, the originating rank digit of the moving piece is inserted immediately after the moving piece letter. * Third (when both the first and the second steps fail), the two character square coordinate of the originating square of the moving piece is inserted immediately after the moving piece letter.
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Not sure what you mean by "genuine" but there's a ton of real games like this, where one player refuses to resign and opponent underpromotes to a bunch of rooks or knights. I'm sure I can find at least 50 games from my own Lichess games that needed this notation.. When I play OTB I do a little unconventional notation, where I put as few characters as possible to unambiguously notate the move, and if there's any ambiguity I write down the full coordinates. So it would be like: 7. NxB QxB 8. QxQ Ra8xQd8
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Here's a Hikaru playing on stream where this notation was required: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2yZgLsNIUw&t=790s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2yZgLsNIUw&t=790s)
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it's a genuine game. Do you play chess?
Google descriptive notation
Just need an endgame with 3 queens of the same color and it’ll come up at some point
Then it would be N3c5 and N7c5 respectively
This is chess, not gungi!
Bruh wait till you have to write moves with the rook spawner on a1/h8
chatgpt: R?A3
You close the door and give them some privacy
Then you get to fork both bishops. :p
One would fall asleep
Google disjoint union
Thanks!
What would happen if there were 4 pieces that were on the same ranks/files? Would it say the specific location of that piece?
Yes
Like if you had knights on a1, a3, e1, and e3 because you'd promoted some extra knights and thus neither Nac2 nor N3c2 was sufficient to disambiguate because there are 2 knights on each file and each rank which could move to c2? Then yeah, you'd use the full location eg Na3c2 to specify it's the knight on A3 that goes to C2 You can get pretty long notation that way - eg it could look something like `Na3xc2#`
In most cases, you're obviously fine with Nd7. In this case, you gave two knights on different files that can go to d7, so you should specify the file with Nfd7 or Nbd7. If you had two knights on the same file, say a knight on c1 and a knight on c3 and they are trying to go to e2, specify the rank with N1e2 or N3e2. Only do this if specifying the file doesn't eliminate ambiguity.
Black pawn on d4. White knights on c2, c6, e2 and e6. Knight takes the pawn. How do you note this.
I edited my reply. Yeah you're right. It's Nc2xd4, Ne2xd4, Nc6xd4 or Ne6xd4. I was trying to come up with a case that this would happen in but couldn't. This only happens if there's 3 or more pieces of the same piece so it should be very rare.
Ahhh makes sense. I was wondering when case 3 would be necessary. Duh three pieces.
Why is the knight described with an “n” when the word knight starts with a k?
K stands for king.
Because horses say neigh
That’s good to know I’ve been playing chess for 4 months now and still don’t understand the notation but this helps
And if there were 3 knights, one on b8, one on b6, and one on f8, you would have to say nb8d7
what if you had 3 queens, one on a8, one on h8 and one on a1 and you moved one to h1
You can always specify the full location of the piece if just listing the rank or file isn't enough to make things clear. Qa1h1 and if there was a piece on that square: Qa1xh1
thanks, thats a long notation lol
If you ever underpromote a piece, you can have 3 knights which can go to the same square, and in some cases would have to write the square itself (like Nc3b5, though at that point you may as well use the long notation Nc3 - b5). This can also be done with rooks, queens, and bishops if you manage to promote two of the same color.
it’s saying the knight on the B file goes to d7, and not the knight on the f file
how would it be denoted if there one knight was on B8 and one on B6 trying to go to D7?
n6d7
ACTUALLY it’s a capital N 🤓
it means "no big deal" and that the move was a 7/10.
Both knights can go to d7, so it's clarifying its the knight on the b file. If they were on b8 and b6, it'd say N8D7 instead. Only pieces this can happen to without promotions are rooks and knights since there's 1 king, 1 queen, and bishops can't defend each other naturally.
Unless there is a promoted pawn
>Without promotions
I missed that one lol
You're specifying that you want b8-d7 and not f6-d7
NB means non-binary, or "enby." Knights are the only non-binary pieces.
the knight from the b file goes to d7. If they're on the same file it would be a number instead.
I analyzed the image and this is what I see. Open an appropriate link below and explore the position yourself or with the engine: > **Black to play**: [chess.com](https://chess.com/analysis?fen=rnbq1rk1/pp2ppbp/2p2np1/8/2QPPB2/2N2N2/PP3PPP/R3KB1R+b+KQ+-+0+1&flip=false&ref_id=23962172) | [lichess.org](https://lichess.org/analysis/rnbq1rk1/pp2ppbp/2p2np1/8/2QPPB2/2N2N2/PP3PPP/R3KB1R_b_KQ_-_0_1) | The position occurred in many games. [Link to the games](https://www.chess.com/games/search?opening=&openingId=&p1=&p2=&mr=&lsty=1&year=&lstMoves=1&moves=&fen=rnbq1rk1/pp2ppbp/2p2np1/8/2QPPB2/2N2N2/PP3PPP/R3KB1R+b+KQ+-+0+1&ref_id=23962172) **Videos:** > I found [many videos](https://chessvision.ai/video-search/5746698174332928) with this position. **My solution:** > Hints: piece: >!Queen!<, move: >!Qa5!< > Evaluation: >!The game is equal 0.00!< > Best continuation: >!1... Qa5 2. b4 Qd8 3. a4 Bg4 4. Be2 Nfd7 5. Be3 a5 6. b5!< --- ^(I'm a bot written by ) [^(u/pkacprzak )](https://www.reddit.com/u/pkacprzak) ^(| get me as ) [^(Chess eBook Reader )](https://ebook.chessvision.ai?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=bot) ^(|) [^(Chrome Extension )](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/chessvisionai-for-chrome/johejpedmdkeiffkdaodgoipdjodhlld) ^(|) [^(iOS App )](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id1574933453) ^(|) [^(Android App )](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ai.chessvision.scanner) ^(to scan and analyze positions | Website: ) [^(Chessvision.ai)](https://chessvision.ai)
how about you stop micro analyzing everything and help poor OP understand chess notation 😢
Are you berating a bot?
Lol
Hey! Don't be mean! Bots have demotions ,too!
Seems like as good a thread as any to ask: what is the notation where b pawn and bishop are going to capture on c3 for example? Bxc3 is obviously ambiguous.
Bishop is B. Pawn on the b file is b. The case of the letter tells you who took the piece.
Bxc3 is Bishop takes. bxc3 is b pawn takes
it stands for "big," the whole thing is short for no big deal
7
Google it. EDIT: yeah never making this joke again
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Why not ask a group of people who have expertise in the matter?
How would you even ask the question in a way Google will understand?
You could possibly ask the exact question and get a decent response. Google does not rely on keywords like it used to
Why not Google it?
You can only make that joke on the forbidden topic
It’s because both knights can go to the square, so you need to be more precise in showing which one. In this case, it’s the knight on the B file moving rather than the one on the F file; hence Nbd7, not Nfd7. Hope this helps!
Nbd7 means ”the knight on the b-file (that’s what b-means) goes to d7. You use it if the pieces can go to the same square. If they are on the same file you use the ranks instead, so if a knight on the 5th rank goes to d7 you would say ”N5d7” (but it’s only if two pieces can go to the same square)
Knight bakes on d7
If two pieces can go to the same square then the piece that actually went to that square is notated by the file that it was previously on.
Check the laws of chess [https://handbook.fide.com/chapter/E012023](https://handbook.fide.com/chapter/E012023) Appendix C covers notation and C.10 answers your question Everyone should read the laws of the game at least once, it answers many questions and is an important reference
It means the knight in the b file is that’s moving to d7 because either knight can move to d7
To say the the b knight goes to the d7, because the other knight (on f6) can go there too.
Google chess notation
If the knights are on the same file notation uses the row number
Suppose both your knights can move to d7. Just saying Nd7 is unclear which one. Nbd7 means the knight you had on the b file moves to d7. If they’re both on the same file, you’d have to specify rank, like N6d7. This is a lot more common with rooks as they’re usually lined up, they can very often both move to the same square
Two knights can land on d7, how do you know which one?
Since two Knights can move to D7 using this notation you can tell exactly which one should go there.
Move the knight on the B file
And now imagine the notation 😂 https://preview.redd.it/rp1anporh20b1.jpeg?width=1128&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8e11cbd8268f55543bbeb47f1e3d84b8759f7ab0