Short answer: upload the image at scanchess.com/dashboard/scan/board, inspect any highlighted squares, set the active side to move, and copy the validated FEN string. One board image costs 1 credit; a new account's 10 free credits cover ten positions before paying anything.
FEN (Forsyth–Edwards Notation) is the standard one-line description of a chess position accepted by every modern engine, database, and analysis board. Typing one manually requires counting empty squares rank by rank from rank 8 to rank 1—where a single miscount invalidates the string. Converting the image does the counting for you, leaving only the game-state details that a static photo cannot show.
Step 1: Capture or select a clean image
Recognition quality depends on perspective, lighting, and contrast across the 64 squares:
- Online screenshots: Captures from Lichess, Chess.com, or digital broadcasts are the cleanest input. A crisp square crop with standard piece sets converts with minimal ambiguity.
- Printed 2D diagrams: Diagrams from books, magazines, or puzzle sheets convert cleanly when laid flat under even light. Watch for curved book gutters or stylized fonts where dark pawns and bishops look similar.
- Over-the-board physical photos: Hold your phone directly above the board at a strict 90-degree top-down angle, keeping all four borders and 64 squares in frame. Turn off the direct camera flash to eliminate harsh reflections on varnished wood, and use diffuse room light so dark pieces (especially knights) do not blend into dark squares. Avoid angled shots where tall pieces hide pawns on ranks behind them.
One image holds one position. If the diagram is in a book you own, chess book to PGN takes that position on to a PGN you can add moves to. For the complete moves of an over-the-board game, scan the physical scoresheet instead — see Convert a chess scoresheet to PGN.
