# ICCF numeric notation

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Chess notation system

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**ICCF numeric notation** is the official [chess notation](/source/Chess_notation) system of the [International Correspondence Chess Federation](/source/International_Correspondence_Chess_Federation). The system was devised for use in international [correspondence chess](/source/Correspondence_chess) to avoid the potential confusion of using [algebraic notation](/source/Algebraic_notation_(chess)), as the [chess pieces](/source/Chess_pieces) have different abbreviations depending on language.

In ICCF numeric notation, each square of the [chessboard](/source/Chessboard) has a two-digit designation. The first digit is the number of the [file](/source/Glossary_of_chess#file); files are numbered 1 to 8 from left to right from White's point of view. The second digit is the [rank](/source/Glossary_of_chess#rank); ranks are numbered 1 to 8 from nearest to farthest from White's point of view. Each move is denoted by either four or five digits: the first two digits denote the square the moving piece leaves; the following two digits denote the square at which the moving piece arrives; and, where applicable, the fifth digit denotes the piece of [promotion](/source/Promotion_(chess)).[1]

## Details

Correspondence chess card showing algebraic notation and ICCF notation

In numeric notation, each square is designated with a two-digit number via a [coordinate system](/source/Coordinate_system). The first digit describes the file and the second digit the rank. Files are numbered 1 to 8 from White's left to White's right, and ranks are numbered 1 to 8 from White's near side to White's far side. A move is defined by pairing two square designations together, one for the starting square and one for the ending square. For example, the move that would be written *1.e4* in algebraic notation would be written *1. 5254* in numeric notation: the [pawn](/source/Pawn_(chess)) starts from square 52 (file 5, rank 2) and moves to square 54 (file 5, rank 4). Numeric notation does not explicitly mark the type of moving piece, [captures](/source/Glossary_of_chess#capture), or [checks](/source/Check_(chess)); every move is written as four digits unless resulting in promotion.

For promotion, a fifth digit is added to the move's notation: 1 for [queen](/source/Queen_(chess)), 2 for [rook](/source/Rook_(chess)), 3 for [bishop](/source/Bishop_(chess)), and 4 for [knight](/source/Knight_(chess)). For instance, a pawn on f7 moving to f8 and promoting to a rook would be written as *67682*. A variant four-digit notation where the ending rank is omitted (because it is always 8 for White and 1 for Black) also exists (e.g. *6762*); however, this is considered confusing and contradicts the standard.

[Castling](/source/Castling) is written using the [king](/source/King_(chess))'s start position and end position. Castling [kingside](/source/Glossary_of_chess#kingside) is written as *5171* for White and *5878* for Black, and castling [queenside](/source/Glossary_of_chess#queenside) is written as *5131* for White and *5838* for Black. The rook's start and end positions are implied.

## History

German professor J. W. D. Wildt of Göttingen devised numeric notation circa 1803. Johann Koch used the system 25 years later; the system is sometimes named after him. Ivan Savenkov supported its use in 1877, and it bears his name in Russia.

## See also

- [Descriptive notation](/source/Descriptive_notation)

- [Forsyth–Edwards Notation](/source/Forsyth%E2%80%93Edwards_Notation)

- [Portable Game Notation](/source/Portable_Game_Notation)

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ([Just & Burg 2003](#CITEREFJustBurg2003):221–22)

- [Hooper, David](/source/David_Vincent_Hooper); [Whyld, Kenneth](/source/Kenneth_Whyld) (1996) [First pub. 1992]. *[The Oxford Companion to Chess](/source/The_Oxford_Companion_to_Chess)* (2nd ed.). [Oxford University Press](/source/Oxford_University_Press). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-19-280049-3](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-19-280049-3).

- Just, Tim; Burg, Daniel B. (2003), *U.S. Chess Federation's Official Rules of Chess* (fifth ed.), McKay, [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-8129-3559-4](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-8129-3559-4)

- [Sunnucks, Anne](/source/Anne_Sunnucks) (1970), *The Encyclopaedia of Chess*, St. Martins Press, [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-7091-4697-1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-7091-4697-1)

## External links

- [ICCF Laws of Correspondence Chess](https://iccfwebfiles.blob.core.windows.net/rules/2019/THE%20ICCF%20LAWS%20OF%20CORRESPONDENCE%20CHESS%2001.01.2019.pdf) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20200921183336/https://iccfwebfiles.blob.core.windows.net/rules/2019/THE%20ICCF%20LAWS%20OF%20CORRESPONDENCE%20CHESS%2001.01.2019.pdf) 2020-09-21 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [ICCF numeric notation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ICCF_numeric_notation) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ICCF_numeric_notation?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.