In short: A text format for saving and sharing whole chess games.
Also called Portable Game Notation.
PGN stands for Portable Game Notation. It is a plain text format, so a PGN file can be opened in almost every chess program and on every chess site. The format was devised by Steven J. Edwards in 1993 and has since become the standard for saving and sharing games.
What a PGN file looks like
[Event "Example game"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "?"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "0-1"]
1. f3 e5 2. g4 Qh4# 0-1First come the game's details in square brackets, called tags. Seven of them must always be there: Event, Site, Date, Round, White, Black and Result. Unknown details are written with question marks. Then come the moves, and last the result again: 1-0 if White won, 0-1 if Black won, 1/2-1/2 for a draw and * if the game isn't finished.
The same letters everywhere
In PGN the moves always use the English letters: K for king, Q for queen, R for rook, B for bishop and N for knight. Pawns have no letter at all. Castling kingside is written O-O with the letter O, not with zeros. So a PGN file reads the same in every language, even where players write the moves with other letters at the board.
Comments go in curly braces, {like this}, and side lines in ordinary parentheses.
If you want to describe a single position instead of a whole game, you use FEN. You'll find famous games in full among our famous games.
Frequently asked questions
Can a PGN file use another language's piece letters?
No. The standard uses the English letters: K for king, Q for queen, R for rook, B for bishop and N for knight. That way the same file works in every program, whatever its language.
How do you open a PGN file?
With almost any chess program or chess site. It is plain text, so you can also read it in a text editor.
Updated October 31, 2026
The starting position. Press ▶ or use the arrow keys.