ScanChess Blog
Guides on chess notation, scoresheets, PGN, and digitizing your games.
USCF Scoresheet Rules, and Where They Differ from FIDE
US Chess and FIDE agree on most of scorekeeping and part ways on three things that matter at the board: which notation you may use, whether you can…
Chess Vision Tools Compared: Chessvision.ai vs ScanChess
Both tools point a camera at chess and hand you notation, but they read different objects. One turns a diagram into a position; the other turns a…
Archive a Whole Tournament Round in One Pass
Forty sheets, eighty sides, and a pairing list you already have. Here is how to get the round into one PGN without typing a name.
How ScanChess Handles a Move It Can't Quite Read
A misread move is usually still a legal move, which is why legality alone never caught it. Here is what now does — and why the review step asks fewer…
Free Printable Chess Scoresheets: Official FIDE Formats, 60 & 80 Moves, and Kids Templates
Everything you need to know about official tournament chess scoresheets: choose between standard 60-move, 80-move classical, junior, and rapid…
ScanChess Billing and Refunds, Explained
Why your statement says Waffo, why payments are final, and the one-button alternative to asking for money back.
ScanChess Free vs Pro: What You Actually Get
Free gets you 10 credits and every feature. Pro buys volume. Here is where the line actually falls.
How to Cancel a ScanChess Subscription
One button on the pricing page, or iPhone Settings if you subscribed in the app. No email, no retention call.
How ScanChess Credits Work
Credits are the only thing you spend on ScanChess. Here is exactly what each action costs and how the free and Pro allowances behave.
How to Read a Chess Scoresheet: A Beginner's Guide
Move numbers on the left, White in the middle, Black on the right: how a scoresheet is organized, what each symbol means, and how the result is…
Chess Notation Explained: Algebraic Notation (SAN) Basics
Files a to h, ranks 1 to 8, one letter per piece: everything you need to read and write chess moves in Standard Algebraic Notation, with examples for…
What Is PGN? The Chess Game Format, Explained
PGN is the universal text format for recording chess games. Here is what the tags and movetext mean, where PGN is used, and how to open a .pgn file.
How to Convert a Handwritten Chess Scoresheet to PGN
Two ways to convert a handwritten chess scoresheet into a PGN file: typing it out by hand, or scanning a photo with AI. Here's how each works and…
FIDE Scoresheet Rules Every Chess Player Should Know
Everything tournament players need to know about FIDE scoresheet rules, from the obligation to record moves to how arbiters use scoresheets to settle…
How to Analyze Your Chess Games from Scoresheets
Your old scoresheets are a goldmine of improvement. Here is a step-by-step workflow to digitize them, study your own play, and turn mistakes into…
How to Import a PGN into Lichess (Step by Step)
Paste your PGN at lichess.org/paste and Lichess gives the game a permanent URL with free computer analysis. The Analysis board and Studies cover the…
How to Import a PGN into Chess.com
Open chess.com/analysis, paste the PGN into the Load PGN panel, press Load, and the game is on the board. Here is that path in detail, plus how to…
What Is FEN? Chess Position Notation Explained
FEN (Forsyth-Edwards Notation) packs an entire chess position into one short line of text. This guide breaks down all six fields with real examples.
How to Fill Out a Chess Scoresheet Correctly
Header first, then one move per cell in the right column, then the result and two signatures. The habits that keep a tournament scoresheet legible…
7 Common Chess Notation Mistakes (and How to Avoid Them)
A field guide to the chess notation mistakes that ruin scoresheets, with before/after fixes and a way to catch them automatically when you scan.
Descriptive vs. Algebraic Chess Notation
Old chess books speak a different language. Here's how descriptive notation works, why algebraic replaced it, and how to translate between the two.
Chess Symbols and Annotations Explained (!, ?, !!, ??)
What !, ?, !!, ??, !? and ?! say about a move, what =, +/- and -+ say about a position, and how each symbol is stored in a PGN file as a NAG code.
From Scoresheet to Lichess Study: A Complete Workflow
For coaches and club players: how to get a weekend's worth of paper games into one Lichess study, with a chapter per game, annotations that teach…
How to Share a Chess Game Online (PGN, FEN, and Links)
Send the file, send a link, or send one position: which sharing format fits which situation, with the exact steps on Lichess and Chess.com and a note…
How to Get a Clean Scan of a Chess Scoresheet (Photo Tips)
Thirty seconds spent on light, framing and focus is the difference between a scan you export as-is and one you correct by hand. What matters in the…
How to Store and Archive Your Chess Scoresheets
Paper fades and shoeboxes get lost. Digitize your scoresheets into PGN, name the files so they sort themselves, and keep three copies, and your chess…
Solutions
- Digitize Your Students' Games: ScanChess for Coaches
- Saving Your Child's Chess Games: A Parent's Guide
- Tournament Scoresheet Archiving: For Arbiters and Organizers
- Convert a Chess Scoresheet to PGN
- Chess Board Scanner: Photo to FEN and Scoresheet to PGN
- Chess Scoresheet Scanner: What It Is and What It Costs
- Chess PGN Converter: What Comes Out and Where It Opens
- Digitize Your Chess Games: Working Through a Backlog
- Photo to PGN: Getting the Shot Right
- Scan Chess Notation: How Handwriting Becomes SAN