Fen?

Standard membersannevssr
Help 13 Jan '07 05:24
  1. Joined
    30 Nov '06
    Moves
    12846
    13 Jan '07 05:241 edit
    I read the faq about FEN's but still dont understand how to set up a position.
    Some wise words? anyone?
    thanks in advance
  2. Joined
    30 Aug '06
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    28651
    13 Jan '07 06:44
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forsyth-Edwards_Notation
  3. Standard memberPhlabibit
    Mystic Meg
    tinyurl.com/3sbbwd4
    Joined
    27 Mar '03
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    17242
    13 Jan '07 13:463 edits
    Originally posted by sannevssr
    I read the faq about FEN's but still dont understand how to set up a position.
    Some wise words? anyone?
    thanks in advance
    FEN is simple once you know it.



    r1bqk2r/pppp1ppp/2n2n2/1Bb1p3/4P3/2N2N2/PPPP1PPP/R1BQ1RK1 b kq - 0 5

    Black is lower case letters
    r=rook
    n=knight
    b=bishop
    q=queen
    k=king
    p=pawn

    White is Capital Letters
    R=Rook
    N=Knight
    B=Bishop
    Q=Queen
    K=King
    P=Pawn

    You will have 8 sets of letters and numbers.

    Letters are pieces
    Numbers are BLANK squares on any given row. Rows run down the board, there are 8 rows on a board.

    In my example the back row for black reads like this...

    r1bqk2r

    rook, Empty Square, bishop, queen, king, 2 Empty Squares, rook.

    White's back row (the last of 8 rows) reads as follows

    R1BQ1RK1

    Rook, Empty Square, Bishop, Queen, Empty Square, Rook, King, Empty Square

    The slashes (/) separate the 8 rows on a board.

    Here is what you see after the 8 rows...

    b kq - 0 5


    b=black to move
    kq means that black can castle king side, or queen side in this game.

    If white could still castle, you would see this...

    KQ

    White already castled, so you don't see that!

    0 5

    Not sure what 0 is...
    5 means Move 5 I believe.

    Go to your board, copy out the fen and compare it to your position. You'll figure it out very fast, it's rather simple... and you will be able to write fen on your own once you understand it.

    You know you've got it right once you realize that every row adds up to 8 pieces and empty squares.

    r1bqk2r = 8 squares
    R1BQ1RK1 = 8 squares

    The 4th row has a loan white Pawn
    4P3
    4+P+3=8!

    Good Luck!

    P-
  4. Standard memberMCA
    TokerSmurf
    Bonnie Scotland
    Joined
    16 Jun '04
    Moves
    15683
    13 Jan '07 13:513 edits
    My only real addition to this is to make clear that the FEN reads as per a paragraph from the top left of the board and the slash / is used to specifiy where the next line begins. (this is mentioned by Phlabibit but i just wanted to make the point clear as I found that it helped to think of it in this way when learning it myself).

    Also see Thread 53742 for another example (4th post down) if required.

    Its easy once you get the hang of it.
  5. Standard memberMCA
    TokerSmurf
    Bonnie Scotland
    Joined
    16 Jun '04
    Moves
    15683
    13 Jan '07 14:11
    Originally posted by Phlabibit
    0 5

    Not sure what 0 is...
    5 means Move 5 I believe.
    Correct the 5 is specifying that it is move 5

    The 0 is the "Halfmove clock":

    This is the number of halfmoves since the last pawn advance or capture. This is used to determine if a draw can be claimed under the fifty move rule.
  6. Standard memberPhlabibit
    Mystic Meg
    tinyurl.com/3sbbwd4
    Joined
    27 Mar '03
    Moves
    17242
    13 Jan '07 14:341 edit
    Originally posted by MCA
    Correct the 5 is specifying that it is move 5

    The 0 is the "Halfmove clock":

    This is the number of halfmoves since the last pawn advance or capture. This is used to determine if a draw can be claimed under the fifty move rule.
    One more thing I need to clear up about castle is this.

    If white moved their Queen Side Rook, and Black could still castle it would look like this...

    K kq

    White can only castle King side
    Black can castle both sides!

    Also, just because it says you can castle both ways, it still needs to be a legal move to castle. Clear the spaces, can't move king through a check, King can't be in check.

    P-
  7. Joined
    30 Nov '06
    Moves
    12846
    16 Jan '07 01:16
    havent followed this thread in a while,
    but thx guys!!
    its all crystal clear now!
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