Although the history of chess games is packed with exciting stories and breathtaking moments, many people believe that Kasparov vs. Topalov, Wijk aan Zee 1999 was probably the best game ever played.
So, have you ever wondered how people analyze old games and study the movements of the masters? The secret lies in scoresheets.
In our article, we’ll explain what is a chess tournament scoresheet, how to use it, and provide you with a free printable that you can easily use to track games, wins, and progress. So, let’s dive in.
What Is a Chess Tournament Scoresheet?
If you want to keep your scores, write notes about your moves, and learn from your mistakes, then you definitely need a chess tournament scoresheet.
This paper with fields allows you to record notes about every move played, whether you’re playing an Over The Board, OTB, game, or tournament. In a tournament, the score sheet will also be a useful analyzing tool to evaluate the skills of every chess player after the winner is announced.
Chess scoresheets are available on online chess websites, but you can also download a free copy. Our free printable is easy to use, and you can print it as many times as you want to keep the scores of every game played.
What Are the Fields in a Chess Tournament Scoresheet?
You’ll probably find various versions of chess scoresheets at different chess online shops, but the sheet might contain the following information.
- The event’s name, place, and date for recording purposes.
- The exact time of the event and how much time it took to finish the game.
- The names of the two chess players.
- The round numberin a tournament.
- The number of the board and the game played.
- The first move played or what chess players call the opening.
- Every move played during the game.
- The final score of the game.
- The players’ signature is to approve all the above-mentioned information.
However, these fields aren’t mandatory, as some tournaments require different fields, especially if you’re playing in a less professional setting. So, you can add whatever fields you think will help you learn the game better and might benefit you or other chess players.
You might also note that some players are bringing their own scoresheets to the tournament. They gather all the information about their past games in a book and review these scoresheets later to improve their chess playing skills, analyze their games, and learn from their mistakes.
What Are the Benefits of a Chess Tournament Scoresheet?
There are two main benefits to a chess scoresheet. The first is to guarantee that there will be no disagreement after the game, and the second is to document the game for analysis purposes.
Using the scoresheet, other players can learn more about their opponents. Once the game ends and the two players sign the scoresheet, all the game’s data will be available for analysis and study.
There are currently some online tools that some professional and more advanced chess players use to record their games. However, many old-school players still prefer the sheets because they’re practical, easy to use, and more accessible.
How to Use a Chess Tournament Scoresheet
The primary purpose of a chess tournament scoresheet is to record all the players’ moves. These moves are documented in algebraic notation.
This unique coordinate system allows you to identify every square on the chessboard. So, by reading the coordinates, you’ll know the exact position of every chess piece and where the player decided to move it. There are 64 squares on the chess board, and each is referred to using a letter and a number.
In this system, every chess piece is referred to by a specific letter. So, by identifying the piece played and the square, you can easily track the game’s progress.
Chess players call each piece by its initial. For example, the King is called K, and the Bishop is called B. However, there are two exceptions.
The Knight is called N because the King already uses the letter K. So, to avoid confusion, chess players use the letter N to refer to the Knight. The Pawn doesn’t have a letter in algebraic notation.
Some people don’t know why there’s no letter to refer to the Pawn. Others believe that this is because the algebraic notation’s purpose is to keep a compact and less descriptive track of the game for documentation purposes. So, there’s no need to name each Pawn. However, in other notation systems, the Pawn is referred to using the letter P.
In addition to this system, people use other notation systems to keep track of their games. These include the ICCF numeric notation, the descriptive notation, the coordinate notation, and the Smith notation. However, the algebraic notation is considered the most popular one.
There are two ways to record chess moves in the algebraic notation. The first one is to mention the letter that refers to the piece, the starting and end square. So, for example, if you write Bd3-f5, then this means that the Bishop moved from the d3 square to the f5 square.
Nevertheless, in some settings, players will use the end square only. This is faster and requires less effort while documenting a whole game. In this case, the previous move will be Bf5.
Download a Chess Tournament Scoresheet
File size: 6.7 mb (pdf) Chess-Scoring-Sheets
Wrap Up
A chess tournament scoresheet is an accessible tool to record the details of any chess game. Although some people prefer to use online scoresheets, it’s actually easier to have a printable sheet that you print hundreds of times. You can also keep all your sheets in one book.
Several scoresheet templates are available, but they usually contain the same fields. Every movement in the game is recorded to eliminate the risk of a dispute after the game and to keep the data available for analysis.
In most cases, players use algebraic notation to record moves. However, there are other notation systems available, although they’re less popular.
