13 Jan 07
3 edits
Originally posted by sannevssrFEN is simple once you know it.
I read the faq about FEN's but still dont understand how to set up a position.
Some wise words? anyone?
thanks in advance
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-
13 Jan 07
3 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.
13 Jan 07
Originally posted by PhlabibitCorrect the 5 is specifying that it is move 5
0 5
Not sure what 0 is...
5 means Move 5 I believe.
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.
13 Jan 07
1 edit
Originally posted by MCAOne more thing I need to clear up about castle is this.
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.
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-