Syntax

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There are several standard chess diagram templates:

There are also templates for chess variants:

The syntax is basically the same for all of them.

{{Chess diagram
| <alignment> (param #1)
| <header>    (#2) 
| size =
| numbers =
| letters =
| <a8> | <b8> | ... | <h8>  (#3 to ...
| <a7> | <b7> | ... | <h7>
...
| <a1> | <b1> | ... | <h1>  ( ... #66)
| <footer> (#67)
| reverse = 
}}

When the chess board is 8x8, there is an alternative syntax (see #Alternative way to place the pieces: FEN below):

{{Chess diagram
| fen =
| align =
| clear = 
| header = 
| footer =
| size =
| numbers =
| letters =
| reverse =
}}

Parameters:

  • <alignment> – defines horizontal alignment (floating) of the whole table, must be tright or tleft (or nothing)
  • <header> – the text which appears above the diagram, may be empty;
  • size - specifies the size of each square in pixels, the default is 26.
  • numbers - specifies whether the rows are numbered. Options are: left, right, both (default) or neither.
  • letters - specifies whether the columns are lettered. Options are: top, bottom, both (default) or neither.
  • <a8>, <b8>, ... <h1> – define corresponding squares of the chessboard, see below;
  • <footer> – the text which appears beneath the diagram, may be empty; optional – can be left out (currently not in the other templates)

A square is defined by the name of piece or empty parameter. The names of the pieces are those given in algebraic notation:

  • k = king
  • q = queen
  • r = rook
  • b = bishop
  • n = knight
  • p = pawn

There are also some fairy chess pieces available:

  • a = archbishop (knight+bishop compound)
  • c = chancellor (knight+rook compound)
  • f = inverted king
  • g = inverted queen
  • m = inverted rook
  • j(e) = inverted bishop
  • N(s) = inverted knight
  • h = inverted pawn
  • z = champion (for Omega Chess)
  • w = wizard (for Omega Chess)
  • t = fool (for Omega Chess)
  • M = mann
  • C = centaur

These letters are combined with either "l" for Light=White, or "d" for Dark=Black. So "kl" is White's king, and "nd" is Black's knight.

An empty square is written either using underscores, spaces, or nothing at all. Two spaces are recommended.

  • <space> = empty square

You can also use "xx" for a black cross, "ox" for a white cross, "xo" for a black circle on an empty square or "oo" for a white one.

  • xx = black cross/x
  • ox = white cross/x
  • xo = black circle
  • oo = white circle

When showing movement directions on the board, arrows are available

  • ul = up & left
  • ua = up
  • ur = up & right
  • la = left
  • lr = left & right
  • ud = up & down
  • ra = right
  • dl = down & left
  • da = down
  • dr = down & right

Numbers can also be added to squares by using "x0" for 0, "x1" for 1, "x2" for 2, ..., "x9" for 9.

  • x0
  • x1
  • x2
  • x3
  • x4
  • x5
  • x6
  • x7
  • x8
  • x9

Examples

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Standard diagram

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This diagram is recommended for common use as a main diagram in the articles on chess openings, endings, games, positions etc. See the corresponding code below.

abcdefgh
8
a8 black rook
b8 black knight
c8 black bishop
d8 black queen
e8 black king
f8 black bishop
g8 black knight
h8 black rook
a7 black pawn
b7 black pawn
c7 black pawn
d7 black pawn
f7 black pawn
g7 black pawn
h7 black pawn
e5 black pawn
e4 white pawn
f4 white pawn
a2 white pawn
b2 white pawn
c2 white pawn
d2 white pawn
g2 white pawn
h2 white pawn
a1 white rook
b1 white knight
c1 white bishop
d1 white queen
e1 white king
f1 white bishop
g1 white knight
h1 white rook
8
77
66
55
44
33
22
11
abcdefgh
The King's Gambit
{{Chess diagram
| tright
| 

|rd|nd|bd|qd|kd|bd|nd|rd
|pd|pd|pd|pd|  |pd|pd|pd
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
|  |  |  |  |pd|  |  |
|  |  |  |  |pl|pl|  |
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
|pl|pl|pl|pl|  |  |pl|pl
|rl|nl|bl|ql|kl|bl|nl|rl

| The King's Gambit
}}

Diagram with both captions

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W. Langstaff, Chess Amateur 1922
abcdefgh
8
e8 black king
h8 black rook
f6 white bishop
h6 white pawn
d5 white rook
f5 white king
g5 black pawn
h5 white pawn
8
77
66
55
44
33
22
11
abcdefgh
Mate in two.
This problem uses partial retrograde analysis method.

It may be convenient to use this in the articles on chess problems. Please note that in the header and footer you can use bolds or italics. You can also use <br> to break the lines.

{{Chess diagram
| tright
| '''W. Langstaff''', ''Chess Amateur'' 1922

|  |  |  |  |kd|  |  |rd
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  
|  |  |  |  |  |bl|  |pl
|  |  |  |rl|  |kl|pd|pl
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  

| '''Mate in two.''' <br> This problem uses ''partial retrograde analysis'' method.
}}

Diagram without captions

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abcdefgh
8
b6 black cross
c6 black circle
d6 black cross
c5 white pawn
f4 black circle
e3 black cross
f3 black circle
g3 black cross
f2 white pawn
8
77
66
55
44
33
22
11
abcdefgh

See the corresponding code below. If you don't want the captions, just remove them, but don't delete the second "|" pipe character for the caption above; it is possible to delete the last pipe for the longer caption below.

The diagram floats to the left to illustrate the use of the first parameter.

{{Chess diagram
| tleft
| 

|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  
|  |xx|xo|xx|  |  |  |  
|  |  |pl|  |  |  |  |  
|  |  |  |  |  |xo|  |  
|  |  |  |  |xx|xo|xx|  
|  |  |  |  |  |pl|  |  
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  

}}

Movement example

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This can be used to show how pieces move.

abcdefgh
8
c8 up arrow
c7 up arrow
a6 left arrow
b6 left arrow
c6 black rook
d6 right arrow
e6 right arrow
f6 right arrow
g6 right arrow
h6 right arrow
c5 down arrow
c4 down arrow
e4 up-left arrow
f4 up arrow
g4 up-right arrow
c3 down arrow
e3 left arrow
f3 white king
g3 right arrow
c2 down arrow
e2 down-left arrow
f2 down arrow
g2 down-right arrow
c1 down arrow
8
77
66
55
44
33
22
11
abcdefgh
Example showing how white king can move

any direction, but only one square, while black rook can move any number of squares but only up and down, and right and left.

{{Chess diagram 
| tleft
| 

|  |  |ua|  |  |  |  |  
|  |  |ua|  |  |  |  |  
|la|la|rd|ra|ra|ra|ra|ra
|  |  |da|  |  |  |  |  
|  |  |da|  |ul|ua|ur|  
|  |  |da|  |la|kl|ra|  
|  |  |da|  |dl|da|dr|  
|  |  |da|  |  |  |  |  

|Example showing how white king can move
any direction, but only one square, while
black rook can move any number of squares
but only up and down, and right and left.
}}
abcdefgh
8
b8 up-left arrow
d8 up arrow
f8 up-right arrow
c7 up-left arrow
d7 up arrow
e7 up-right arrow
a6 left arrow
b6 left arrow
c6 left arrow
d6 white queen
e6 right arrow
f6 right arrow
g6 right arrow
h6 right arrow
c5 down-left arrow
d5 down arrow
e5 down-right arrow
b4 down-left arrow
d4 down arrow
f4 down-right arrow
a3 down-left arrow
d3 down arrow
g3 down-right arrow
d2 down arrow
h2 down-right arrow
d1 down arrow
8
77
66
55
44
33
22
11
abcdefgh
{{Chess diagram
| tright
| 

|  |ul|  |ua|  |ur|  |  
|  |  |ul|ua|ur|  |  |  
|la|la|la|ql|ra|ra|ra|ra
|  |  |dl|da|dr|  |  |  
|  |dl|  |da|  |dr|  |  
|dl|  |  |da|  |  |dr|  
|  |  |  |da|  |  |  |dr
|  |  |  |da|  |  |  |  

}}

In the board on the right, it is shown that the white queen can go any distance in any of these directions.

Another method for the rook example:

abcdefgh
8
c7 up-down arrow
b6 left-right arrow
c6 black rook
d6 left-right arrow
c5 up-down arrow
e4 up-left arrow
f4 up arrow
g4 up-right arrow
e3 left arrow
f3 white king
g3 right arrow
e2 down-left arrow
f2 down arrow
g2 down-right arrow
8
77
66
55
44
33
22
11
abcdefgh
{{Chess diagram
| tleft
| 

|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  
|  |  |ud|  |  |  |  |  
|  |lr|rd|lr|  |  |  |  
|  |  |ud|  |  |  |  |  
|  |  |  |  |ul|ua|ur|  
|  |  |  |  |la|kl|ra|  
|  |  |  |  |dl|da|dr|  
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  

}}

Small diagram

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This one may be useful in articles with many diagrams. It uses another template named {{Chess diagram small}}.

The small diagrams can have header, too.

Template:Chess diagram small

{{Chess diagram small
| tright
| 

|rd|  |  |qd|  |rd|kd|  
|pd|pd|  |  |pd|pd|bd|pd
|  |nd|pd|  |  |nd|pd|  
|  |  |ql|  |  |  |bl|  
|  |  |  |pl|pl|  |bd|  
|  |  |nl|  |  |nl|  |  
|pl|pl|  |  |  |pl|pl|pl
|  |  |  |rl|kl|bl|  |rl

| Position after 11.Bg5
}}

Different board size

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Chess boards of non-standard dimensions need special templates. There are templates for the following boards:

Minichess (5×5) – Template:Chess diagram 5x5
{{Chess diagram 5x5
| tright
| 

|kd|qd|bd|nd|rd
|pd|pd|pd|pd|pd
|  |  |  |  |  
|pl|pl|pl|pl|pl
|kl|ql|bl|nl|rl

| Gardner minichess
}}

Template:Chess diagram 5x5

Los Alamos chess (6×6) – Template:Chess diagram 6x6
{{Chess diagram 6x6
| tright
| 

|rd|nd|qd|kd|nd|rd
|pd|pd|pd|pd|pd|pd
|  |  |  |  |  |  
|  |  |  |  |  |  
|pl|pl|pl|pl|pl|pl
|rl|nl|ql|kl|nl|rl

| Los Alamos chess
}}

Template:Chess diagram 6x6

Capablanca chess (8×10)
{{Chess diagram 8x10
| tright
| 

|rd|nd|ad|bd|qd|kd|bd|cd|nd|rd
|pd|pd|pd|pd|pd|pd|pd|pd|pd|pd
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  
|pl|pl|pl|pl|pl|pl|pl|pl|pl|pl
|rl|nl|al|bl|ql|kl|bl|cl|nl|rl

| Capablanca chess
}}

Template:Chess diagram 8x10

Grand Chess
{{Chess diagram 10x10
| tright
| 

|rd|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |rd
|  |nd|bd|qd|kd|cd|ad|bd|nd|  
|pd|pd|pd|pd|pd|pd|pd|pd|pd|pd
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  
|pl|pl|pl|pl|pl|pl|pl|pl|pl|pl
|  |nl|bl|ql|kl|cl|al|bl|nl|  
|rl|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |rl

| Grand Chess
}}
Template:Chess diagram 10x10

Double boards

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Bughouse chess (four players)
{{bughouse chess diagram
| A1=Team 1, Board A 
| A2=Team 2, Board A 
| B1=Team 1, Board B 
| B2=Team 2, Board B
| tright
|

|rd|nd|bd|qd|kd|bd|nd|rd
|pd|pd|pd|pd|pd|pd|pd|pd
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  
|pl|pl|pl|pl|pl|pl|pl|pl
|rl|nl|bl|ql|kl|bl|nl|rl

|rl|nl|bl|kl|ql|bl|nl|rl
|pl|pl|pl|pl|pl|pl|pl|pl
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  
|pd|pd|pd|pd|pd|pd|pd|pd
|rd|nd|bd|kd|qd|bd|nd|rd

| '''Bughouse''' setup and starting position
}}

Template:Bughouse chess diagram

Alice Chess (two players)
{{alice chess diagram
| tright
|

|rd|nd|bd|qd|kd|  |nd|rd
|pd|pd|pd|pd|  |pd|pd|pd
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  
|  |  |  |  |nl|  |  |  
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  
|pl|pl|pl|pl|pl|pl|pl|pl
|rl|nl|bl|ql|kl|bl|  |rl

|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  
|  |  |  |  |pd|  |  |  
|  |  |bd|  |  |  |  |  
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  

| Position after '''1. Nf3 e6 2. Ne5 Bc5'''
}}

Template:Alice chess diagram

Different shaped board

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Three-dimensional chess (Raumschach) – Template:Raumschach diagram
{{Raumschach diagram
| tright
|

|rd|nd|kd|nd|rd
|pd|pd|pd|pd|pd
|  |  |  |  |  
|  |  |  |  |  
|  |  |  |  |  

|Nd|bd|qd|Nd|bd
|pd|pd|pd|pd|pd
|  |  |  |  |  
|  |  |  |  |  
|  |  |  |  |  

|  |  |  |  |  
|  |  |  |  |  
|  |  |  |  |  
|  |  |  |  |  
|  |  |  |  |  

|  |  |  |  |  
|  |  |  |  |  
|  |  |  |  |  
|pl|pl|pl|pl|pl
|bl|Nl|ql|bl|Nl

|  |  |  |  |  
|  |  |  |  |  
|  |  |  |  |  
|pl|pl|pl|pl|pl
|rl|nl|kl|nl|rl

| '''Raumschach''' starting position
}}

Template:Raumschach diagram

Omega ChessTemplate:Omega Chess diagram
{{Omega Chess diagram
|
| [[Omega Chess]] (10x10 + 4 corners)

|wd                              |wd
   |zd|rd|nd|bd|qd|kd|bd|nd|rd|zd
   |pd|pd|pd|pd|pd|pd|pd|pd|pd|pd
   |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  
   |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  
   |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  
   |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  
   |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  
   |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  
   |pl|pl|pl|pl|pl|pl|pl|pl|pl|pl
   |zl|rl|nl|bl|ql|kl|bl|nl|rl|zl
|wl                              |wl

| '''Omega Chess''' starting position
}}
Template:Omega Chess diagram

Alternative way to place the pieces: FEN

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{{Chess diagram|fen=rnbqkbnr/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/RNBQKBNR|align=tleft}}
abcdefgh
8
a8 black rook
b8 black knight
c8 black bishop
d8 black queen
e8 black king
f8 black bishop
g8 black knight
h8 black rook
a7 black pawn
b7 black pawn
c7 black pawn
d7 black pawn
e7 black pawn
f7 black pawn
g7 black pawn
h7 black pawn
a2 white pawn
b2 white pawn
c2 white pawn
d2 white pawn
e2 white pawn
f2 white pawn
g2 white pawn
h2 white pawn
a1 white rook
b1 white knight
c1 white bishop
d1 white queen
e1 white king
f1 white bishop
g1 white knight
h1 white rook
8
77
66
55
44
33
22
11
abcdefgh

It is possible to populate the board using Forsyth–Edwards Notation, instead of positional parameters.

To do this, the "fen" parameter is used. For instance, this is the opening board of a chess game, defined using the "fen" parameter "rnbqkbnr/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/RNBQKBNR":

{{Chess diagram|fen=rnbqkbnr/acfghzwt/8/8/8/8/ACFGHZWT/RNBQKBNR|align=tleft}}
abcdefgh
8
a8 black rook
b8 black knight
c8 black bishop
d8 black queen
e8 black king
f8 black bishop
g8 black knight
h8 black rook
a7 black archbishop
b7 black chancelor
c7 black upside-down king
d7 black upside-down queen
e7 black upside-down pawn
f7 black champion
g7 black wizard
h7 black fool
a2 white archbishop
b2 white chancelor
c2 white upside-down king
d2 white upside-down queen
e2 white upside-down pawn
f2 white champion
g2 white wizard
h2 white fool
a1 white rook
b1 white knight
c1 white bishop
d1 white queen
e1 white king
f1 white bishop
g1 white knight
h1 white rook
8
77
66
55
44
33
22
11
abcdefgh

It is also possible to show "fairy" pieces using the FEN notation. However, because the FEN notation uses uppercase and lowercase to denote the color of the piece, it is not possible to display the inverted knight fairy piece (denoted by "N") using the fen parameter. Here is a board where the pawns are replaced by fairy pieces:

Only 8x8 boards can use the "fen" parameter. For other size boards, positional parameters should be used.

Displaying the board from the Black's point of view

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{{Chess diagram|fen=rnbqkbnr/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/RNBQKBNR|align=tleft|reverse=true}}
hgfedcba
1
h1 white rook
g1 white knight
f1 white bishop
e1 white king
d1 white queen
c1 white bishop
b1 white knight
a1 white rook
h2 white pawn
g2 white pawn
f2 white pawn
e2 white pawn
d2 white pawn
c2 white pawn
b2 white pawn
a2 white pawn
h7 black pawn
g7 black pawn
f7 black pawn
e7 black pawn
d7 black pawn
c7 black pawn
b7 black pawn
a7 black pawn
h8 black rook
g8 black knight
f8 black bishop
e8 black king
d8 black queen
c8 black bishop
b8 black knight
a8 black rook
1
22
33
44
55
66
77
88
hgfedcba

The "reverse=true" parameter causes the board to be shown from Black's point of view, that is, with the h8 square at lower-left corner, and a1 at the upper-right. This works for all sizes of the normal chessboard template, but not for the Alice, Bughouse, Omega, or Raumschach templates. Here, the same FEN notation as in the previous example produces a board with Black's starting position at the bottom.

See also

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