If you have a game saved as a PGN file, you can load it into Chess.com and use the same powerful tools you use for your online games: engine analysis, move-by-move review, and shareable game links. This guide walks through the import flow and shows you how to get a clean PGN from a paper scoresheet first.

What is a PGN?

PGN stands for Portable Game Notation. It is the standard plain-text format for recording a chess game: the moves in Standard Algebraic Notation (SAN) plus optional tags like the players' names, event, date, and result. Almost every chess site and app, including Chess.com and Lichess, can read it.

If you want a deeper explanation of the format and its tags, see what is PGN.

Here is a short example of what a PGN looks like:

[Event "Club Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2026.05.10"]
[White "Player A"]
[Black "Player B"]
[Result "1-0"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7
6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3 O-O 1-0

Before you start: getting a PGN

To import a game, you need PGN text or a .pgn file. You might already have one from another site's export, an engine, or a tournament database.

If your game only exists on a handwritten scoresheet, you can convert it to PGN before importing. With ScanChess, you take a photo of the scoresheet, the AI reads the handwriting with OCR, and you get the moves back in SAN plus a downloadable PGN file. ScanChess also validates the moves and flags anything that looks off, so you catch transcription errors before they reach Chess.com. See convert handwritten scoresheet to PGN for the full walkthrough.

How to import a PGN into Chess.com

Chess.com's interface changes from time to time, so the exact button labels may differ. The two reliable paths are the Analysis board and the Library or Games import. Both work.

Method 1: Paste or load into the Analysis board

This is the fastest way to get a single game into the engine.

1. Sign in to your Chess.com account and open the Analysis board (usually found under the menu for tools, analysis, or learning).
2. Look for the PGN panel, often labeled with an option to load or paste a game. It is typically beside or beneath the move list.
3. Paste your full PGN text into that box, or use the load/upload option to select your .pgn file.
4. Confirm or load the game. The moves should populate the move list and the board should jump to the starting position.
5. Step through the moves with the arrows or the move list to make sure everything imported correctly.

Method 2: Import into your Library or Games

If you want to save the game to your account so you can return to it later, use the import option in your games area.

1. Go to the section of your account where your games are stored (commonly called Library, Games, or My Games).
2. Find the option to import or add a game.
3. Paste the PGN text or upload the .pgn file when prompted.
4. Save the import. The game is now stored in your account and can be opened in analysis anytime.

Run the analysis

Once the game is loaded, start the engine review:

1. Open the imported game in the Analysis board if you are not already there.
2. Start the engine or game review (sometimes shown as an option to analyze or review the game).
3. Review the evaluation bar, suggested best moves, and any blunder, mistake, or inaccuracy markers.
4. Use the move list to jump to the critical moments the analysis highlights.

That is the whole loop: get a PGN, import it, and let the engine do the heavy lifting.

Troubleshooting common problems

A few things can trip up an import:

• Invalid move errors. If Chess.com rejects a move, the PGN likely has an illegal or mistyped move. This is common with hand-typed notation. Validating the game first, the way ScanChess does automatically, avoids most of these.
• Only part of the game loads. Make sure you copied the entire PGN, including every move pair through the result token (such as 1-0, 0-1, or 1/2-1/2).
• Missing player names or date. Those come from the header tags. They are optional for analysis but nice to have. You can add or edit the tags in your PGN before importing.

From paper to analysis in minutes

The hardest part of analyzing an over-the-board game is usually getting the moves off paper and into a digital format. ScanChess removes that step. Snap a photo of your scoresheet, get a validated PGN, and import it into Chess.com using either method above. You can also scan a board position photo to get a FEN, replay games interactively, and use the tools on the web or in the WeChat mini-program. New users get free starter credits to try it out.

If you analyze tournament games regularly, the workflow in analyze chess games from scoresheets ties scanning and analysis together. And if Lichess is your engine of choice instead, the steps are similar; see import PGN to Lichess.

Ready to turn your scoresheets into analyzable games? Scan your scoresheet with ScanChess and import the PGN into Chess.com in minutes.