Chess Notation Symbols - Complete Reference
Every symbol and annotation mark you will encounter in chess notation, explained.
Published 2026-02-01 | Last verified 2026-07-06
Professor Archer says: When I first encountered chess annotation symbols, I felt like I was decoding a secret language. But once you learn what the exclamation marks and question marks mean, annotated games become far more instructive. The symbols are the annotator's voice.
Move Evaluation Symbols
| Symbol | Meaning | Usage |
|---|---|---|
| ! | Good move | A strong move that improves the position significantly |
| !! | Brilliant move | An exceptional move, often a surprising sacrifice or deep idea |
| ? | Mistake | A move that worsens the position or misses an opportunity |
| ?? | Blunder | A serious error that loses material or the game |
| !? | Interesting move | A creative move that may not be objectively best but poses practical problems |
| ?! | Dubious move | A move of questionable merit that might work in practice |
Position Evaluation Symbols
| Symbol | Meaning |
|---|---|
| +- | White has a decisive advantage |
| -+ | Black has a decisive advantage |
| +/= | White has a slight advantage |
| =/+ | Black has a slight advantage |
| = | The position is equal |
| Unclear | The position is unclear or complex |
Game Result Notation
At the end of a game score, the result is written as 1-0 (White wins), 0-1 (Black wins), or 1/2-1/2 (draw). These results appear after the final move.
Other notation you may encounter includes an asterisk (*) indicating an unfinished game, and various symbols for specific game events like time forfeits or adjudications.
Reading an Annotated Game, Line by Line
Here is how the symbols work together in the wild. A line like "18. Nxf7!? Kxf7 19. Qh5+ Kg8 20. Qxe5?? Qd1+ 0-1" tells a complete story: White tried a speculative knight sacrifice on f7 (!? means interesting but risky), the forced sequence followed, and then White grabbed a pawn with the queen, a blunder (??) that allowed a winning check, after which White resigned (0-1).
Annotators layer position evaluations between the moves: += means White is slightly better, -+ means Black is winning, and the infinity-style "unclear" mark means even the annotator will not commit. Once these register at a glance, a page of dense analysis reads like prose. If you want to test a line you are reading, paste it into our board editor and step through it, or run unfamiliar formats through the notation converter.
PGN NAG Codes (The $-Numbers in Game Files)
| NAG code | Symbol | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| $1 | ! | Good move |
| $2 | ? | Mistake |
| $3 | !! | Brilliant move |
| $4 | ?? | Blunder |
| $5 | !? | Interesting move |
| $6 | ?! | Dubious move |
| $10 | = | Equal position |
| $14 | +/= | White is slightly better |
| $15 | =/+ | Black is slightly better |
| $16 | +/- | White is clearly better |
| $17 | -/+ | Black is clearly better |
| $18 | +- | White is winning |
| $19 | -+ | Black is winning |
Why the Codes Exist
If you download a game file (.pgn) and open it in a text editor, you may see these dollar-sign codes instead of the pretty symbols. PGN, the universal file format for chess games, stores annotations as Numeric Annotation Glyphs (NAGs) so that every program interprets them identically regardless of fonts or languages. Your chess app translates $2 into ? for display.
You rarely need to type them, but knowing the mapping helps in two situations: reading raw PGN files (engine outputs, downloaded databases, email exchanges from correspondence games) and writing your own annotations in plain-text tools. When you annotate your games in a modern interface, the symbols above are usually a click away, and everything on this page round-trips through those same numeric codes underneath.
Notation Symbols FAQ
Who decides what moves get exclamation marks?
The annotator does. Different commentators may evaluate the same move differently. Engine analysis has made evaluations more objective, but annotation still involves human judgment about what is instructive or surprising.
Do I need to use symbols when recording my games?
During a tournament game, you record only the moves without symbols. Symbols are added during post-game analysis. You can use them in your personal notes and analysis to highlight key moments.
Professor Archer says: Start using annotation symbols in your own game analysis. Marking your brilliant moves and your blunders helps you see patterns in your play. Over time, you want more exclamation marks and fewer question marks.
Quick Quiz
What does the symbol "?!" mean in chess annotation?
- A brilliant move - A brilliant move is indicated by !! (double exclamation mark).
- A forced move - There is no standard symbol for a forced move. ?! has a different meaning.
- A dubious move of questionable merit (Correct) - Correct. ?! indicates a move that is probably not best but might work in practice or has some interesting idea behind it.
- A draw offer - Draw offers are not indicated by annotation symbols. ?! evaluates the quality of a move.