Algebraic notation (chess) board. Thus each square has a unique identification of file letter followed by rank number. (For example, White's king starts the game on square e1; Black's knight on b8 can move to open squares a6 or c6.) Each piece type (other than pawns) is identified by an uppercase letter. English-speaking players use the letters "K" for king, "Q" for queen, "R" for rook, "B" for bishop, and "N" for knight (since K is already used). "S" (from the German "Springer") was also used for the knight in the early days of algebraic notation and is still used in some chess
Algebraic notation (chess) Philipp Stamma. Stamma used the modern names of the squares, but he used "p" for pawn moves and the original of a piece ("a" through "h") instead of the initial letter of the piece name. This article describes standard algebraic notation (SAN) required by FIDE. Each square of the chessboard is identified by a unique coordinate pair—a letter and a number. The vertical columns of squares, called ', are labeled "a" through "h" from White's left (the ) to right (the ). The horizontal rows of squares, called ', are numbered "1" to "8" starting from White's side of the