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The PGN Format

This document will offer a quick explanation of the Portable Game Notation (PGN) format. PGN is used as a standard way of tracking chess games. It is commonly used by on-line chess organizations for record-keeping and game play. It combines formatted headers with Standard English Notation entered into a plain ASCII text file that you can create using Windows Notepad or any other text editor. The files can also be created using some chess programs. If you are using a word processor, be sure you are saving the file in TEXT / ASCII format to ensure compatibility.

PGN Readers:

PGN Headers

The case of the headers is very important. Be sure to follow proper formatting when you are creating the PGN file. This way, it can be read by all PGN readers available. These are the basic headers. You can create or add different headers to a PGN file as long as the ones below are used.

[Event "123456ABC"]
[Site "SITE"]
[Date "1998.2.25"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Player, White"]
[Black "Player, Black"]
[Result "*"]

1.d3 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Bd2 c5 4.g3 Nc6 5.Na3 e6 6.b3 Be7
7.Bh3 O-O 8.Bf4 c4 9.bxc4 Bxa3 10.c5 Bxc5 11.Rf1 Re8
12.Ng5 e5 13.Bf5 exf4
{ This is a comment field. }
14.gxf4 Bxf5 15.Rg1 Qa5+ 16.Kf1 Nd4 17.Rc1 Nxe2
18.Qxe2 Rxe2 19.Rd1 Rxf2+ 0-1

Here is a quick break-down of each section of a PGN file.

[Event "123456ABC"]
 This header defines the game as assigned by an organization or agreed upon by the players at the start of the game.

[Site "IECC"]
 The Site header defines the organization that the event is being held under. This can be "IECG," "IECC," etc.

[Date "1998.01.01"]
 The date is the month, day and year that the game started on. The format must ALWAYS be in the form of "yyyy.mm.dd" to assure compatibility.

[Round "1"]
 Most games are played 2 at a time. Between the two opponents, one person starts as white on one game and plays as black on the other. The second game is "Round 2" , and so on.

[White "Player, White"]
 This defines the player who is playing on the white side of the board. Note the "Last, First" format of the name.

[Black "Player, Black"]
 This defines the player who is playing on the black side of the board. Note the "Last, First" format of the name.

[Result "*"]
 This gives the status of the game. This game is currently in progress, as indicated by the asterisk (*). Possible fields would be:
*(Game in progress)
0-1(Black won)
1-0(White won)
1/2 - 1/2(Draw)

{ This is a comment field. }
 You can add comments to a game for your own use. They will be ignored by any PGN reader, or they may be displayed in a different window.

After the blank line following the fields, the game record is recorded in Standard Algabraic Notation. Notation takes the coordinates of the chess-board and assigns them numbers and letters. They follow the numbering represented below:

Chess Diagram in ASCII characters

Peices are recorded as follows:

K King Q Queen B Bishop
N kNight R Rook P Pawn

Moves are recorded in sets. For example, the first four moves above are "1.d3 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6" . Note that there is no space after the period for each move. Also note that "P" is not used for the pawn moves. Using the "P" can be ignored for pawns.

Special Notation
x (Capture)
(Example: bxc4; Bishop captured piece in C4 square)

0-0 (King-side castling)

0-0-0 (Queen-side castling)

+ (Check)
(Example: Rxf2+; Puts the opposing player in check)

++ (Check-Mate)
(Example: Rxf2++ would put the opposing player
in check-mate, ending the game)

= (Promotion)
(Example: a8=q; Pawn promoted to Queen)