connors@drutx.UUCP (ConnorsPA) (11/15/85)
[] The question of which notation should be used is most "interesting". The descriptive notation [ N-KB3, Q-K2, PxNP, etc. ] evolved from the earliest way of describing moves, where the move was simply described in full. In the 18th century the French player Philidor wrote our present-day N-KB3 as "The King's Knight at his Bishop's third Square". As you can imagine, describing variations was a lengthy process. Algebraic notation [ Nf3, Qe2, fxg4, etc. ] was first introduced by Philip Stamma in 1745 in his book 'The Noble Game of Chess'. The use of this algebraic notation was one of the reasons for the great popularity of his book, which remained in print for 120 years. Algebraic notation gradually spread throughout the world, leaving behind only three countries which use descriptive notation to any degree: Britain, Spain and the USA. Even in the USSR they use algebraic, though the letters 'b,d,f,g' are not even in their alphabet! The World Chess Federation (FIDE) now no longer recognizes descriptive notation. So if you ever rise to the illustrious heights of playing in one of their tournaments, and use descriptive notation to record the game, then according to the rules you will not be allowed to use your scoresheet to claim, for example, that your opponent has lost on time. In requiring the use of algebraic notation, FIDE left it open for the abbreviation for a piece to be the first letter of the name commonly used in the player's country. So in English-speaking countries we have Bf4, but in France Ff4 (fou=Bishop), and in Holland Lf4 (loper=bishop). Likewise, in English Kf4 means "King to f4", but in Russian this means "Knight to f4". Since chess is now one of the most international of games, figurine algebraic was developed for printing purposes. Instead of an abbreviation for the piece, a little picture of that piece is printed. This kind of notation is now fairly common in chess books, and allows readers of all nationalities to understand what is going on. Algebraic and descriptive are both perfectly practical notations, with their own drawbacks and advantages. Why algebraic is winning is simply because chess is such an international game, and requires a commonly-accepted means of recording games. The majority won. Paul Connors Email: ihnp4!drutx!connors Phone: (303)-538-4047
lazarus@brahms.BERKELEY.EDU (Andrew J &) (11/17/85)
Descriptive notation is still prevalent in South America, at least Argentina and Brasil. Anyone who has read Spanish descriptive (and I speak pretty good Spanish) will appreciate the convenience of algebraic notation in which only the initial character varies. As a tournament director I have read scoresheets in Spanish, French, German, Russian, Polish, Finnish, and even Hebrew algebraic. (Plus one eccentric who drew figurines.) I find it easier to use descriptive but in an international spirit I abandoned it years ago. I really don't understand the postings ridiculing figurines. It looks neat and promotes sales of polyglot (or hieroglyphic) books such as _Encyclopedia of Chess Openings_. The Ancient Greeks did a lot of math in words but since Viete introduced algebraic symbols like 'x' the pace of research has accelerated.:-) andy
plw@panda.UUCP (Pete Williamson) (11/30/85)
> > Algebraic and descriptive are both perfectly practical > notations, with their own drawbacks and advantages. > Why algebraic is winning is simply because chess is such > an international game, and requires a commonly-accepted > means of recording games. The majority won. > Exactly!! This is VHS versus Beta; the Metric System versus the English System of Measure; etc. Knowledgable players probably know both equally well, and don't give a damn. -- Pete Williamson "By hook or by crook, we will !!" ... #2