FEN (Forsyth-Edwards Notation) is a one-line text description of a chess position. Every engine, database and website understands it.

The six fields

Here is the starting position:

rnbqkbnr/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 0 1

  1. Piece placement, from rank 8 down to rank 1. Lowercase is Black, uppercase is White. A number means that many empty squares. Slashes separate ranks.
  2. Side to move: w or b.
  3. Castling rights: K and Q for White, k and q for Black, or - if none.
  4. En passant target square, such as e3, or -.
  5. Halfmove clock: moves since the last capture or pawn move (for the fifty-move rule).
  6. Fullmove number, starting at 1 and increasing after Black moves.

Common uses

  • Sharing a puzzle or a study position in one line.
  • Loading a position into an engine or analysis board.
  • Making diagrams for blogs, newsletters and worksheets.

Making a diagram

Paste your FEN into the Chess Diagram Studio, add arrows and highlights, and download a PNG with no watermark or share an embeddable link.