Home › Blog › How to Fill In a Chess Scoresheet (Free Printable)
To fill in a chess scoresheet, write the event, date, round and both players' names at the top, then record every move in algebraic notation, each numbered row holding White's move on the left and Black's on the right. FIDE rules forbid recording a move in advance. When the game ends, circle the result and both players sign both sheets.
Download: Chess scoresheet, A4 (PDF) · Chess scoresheet, US Letter (PDF)
The rules come from the FIDE Laws of Chess, in force since 1 January 2023, with article numbers in brackets, and the PGN details from the PGN standard. Checked in October 2026.
The game details, the 2 players, every move and the result. We couldn't find a blank template published by FIDE, the ECF or the German Chess Federation. Sheets vary by event, but they share the same core fields.
| Field | What to write |
|---|---|
| Event | The tournament or club night |
| Site | City or venue |
| Date | The day you played |
| Round and Board | From the pairings |
| Time control | For example 90+30 |
| White, Black | Both players' names |
| Ratings | Each player's rating, if they have one |
| Moves | Both sides, in numbered rows (8.1.1) |
| Result | Circle 1-0, ½-½ or 0-1 (10.1) |
| Signatures | Both players (8.7) |
Event, Site, Date, Round, White, Black and the result are the 7 tags PGN calls its Seven Tag Roster, so a sheet with all of them types up cleanly later.
Beside the moves, the sheet may only carry clock times, draw offers and notes about a claim (8.1.4). It belongs to the organizer (8.3) and stays visible to the arbiter (8.2). Once both players have signed, the result stands even if it's wrong, unless the arbiter decides otherwise (8.7).
Our sheet uses the standard fields above in our own layout. If the event hands out its own sheet, use that one. Each PDF has 2 pages:
Print it at 100%: A4 PDF or US Letter PDF.
Write the piece letter and the square it lands on, such as Nf3, and leave the letter off for pawns, such as e4. Each numbered row holds White's move, then Black's.
| What | On a FIDE scoresheet | In PGN |
|---|---|---|
| King, queen, rook, bishop, knight | K, Q, R, B, N (C.2). Local letters are allowed, such as German K, D, T, L, S (C.3) | English letters only |
| Pawn move | No letter: e4 (C.4) | e4 |
| Piece move | Letter and square, no hyphen: Nf3 (C.8) | Nf3 |
| Capture | x is optional; a pawn names its file: dxe5 (C.9) | Bxe5, dxe5 |
| Check | + is optional (C.13) | + |
| Checkmate | # is optional (C.13) | # |
| Castling kingside | 0-0, with zeros (C.13) | O-O, with the letter O |
| Castling queenside | 0-0-0 (C.13) | O-O-O |
| Promotion | Square, then piece: d8Q (C.11) | d8=Q |
| En passant | e.p. is optional (C.9) | No marker |
| 2 pieces can reach the square | Add the file: Nbd2. If they share a file, add the rank: N1f3 (C.10) | Same |
| Draw offer | (=) after the move (8.1.5, C.12) | No marker |
| Result | 1-0, ½-½ or 0-1 | 1-0, 1/2-1/2, 0-1, or * if unfinished |
The 2 systems split on castling and promotion. FIDE's own notation writes castling with zeros and promotion as d8Q, while PGN uses the capital letter O and d8=Q. On paper, write the FIDE form. Keep it algebraic, too: a sheet kept in another notation may not be used as evidence in a dispute (Appendix C).
This is the sample game FIDE gives in Appendix C (C.13), as it'd look on your sheet.
| Move | White | Black |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | e4 | e5 |
| 2 | Nf3 | Nf6 |
| 3 | d4 | exd4 |
| 4 | e5 | Ne4 |
| 5 | Qxd4 | d5 |
| 6 | exd6 e.p. | Nxd6 |
| 7 | Bg5 | Nc6 |
| 8 | Qe3+ | Be7 |
| 9 | Nbd2 | 0-0 |
| 10 | 0-0-0 | Re8 |
| 11 | Kb1 (=) |
Move 6 is an en passant capture. At move 9 both White knights could reach d2, so Nbd2 names the b-file one. At move 11 White offers a draw, marked (=).
In FIDE standard games, for the whole game, unless you're in time trouble (8.4). Rapid and blitz don't require it. The articles that matter:
Rapid means more than 10 and under 60 minutes per player, counting the base time plus 60 times the increment (A.1). If increment and delay are new to you, read how to use a chess clock.
Electronic devices need the arbiter's approval (11.3.2), so a phone can't stand in for the paper sheet at a FIDE-rated event. FIDE approved the Clono tablet app as an electronic scoresheet for official competitions in February 2022.
US Chess is looser. Under Rule 15 of its current rulebook:
For the rest of the day at a rated event, see your first chess tournament.
Play the moves from your sheet into the Lichess or Chess.com analysis board, then save or export the game as PGN.
PGN, in one line: a text file of tag pairs for the game details, then the moves in standard algebraic notation and a result marker.
No. A casual game has no scoresheet rule, so keep one only if you want to study the moves later.
In a casual game, the result is usually what you want to keep. Tracking your over-the-board games shows how a scoresheet and Checkmate IRL work together. The Checkmate IRL chess clock saves the result, time control, date, move count and time used. The moves stay on your sheet.
What is a chess scoresheet? A form for recording every move of a game, plus the players, the event and the result. In FIDE standard games both players keep one.
Do you write the move before or after playing it? After, under FIDE rules: 8.1.2 forbids recording the moves in advance, apart from draw claims and sealed moves. US Chess lets you do either on a paper sheet.
Do you have to keep score in rapid or blitz? No. Under FIDE Appendices A.2 and B.3, players in rapid and blitz don't need to record the moves.
When can I stop writing down moves? Under FIDE rules, once you have under 5 minutes left in a period and the increment is under 30 seconds (8.4). Under US Chess rules, both players may stop once either has under 5 minutes, unless the increment or delay is 30 seconds or more.
How do you write castling on a scoresheet? 0-0 for kingside and 0-0-0 for queenside, with zeros, as FIDE's notation shows them. PGN uses the letter O instead: O-O and O-O-O.
How do you write a pawn promotion? The square, then the new piece: d8Q on a FIDE sheet. PGN adds an equals sign: d8=Q.
What does (=) mean on a scoresheet? A draw offer, which both players note next to the move (8.1.5).
What if 2 knights can move to the same square? Add the knight's starting file, as in Nbd2. If both knights stand on the same file, add the rank instead, as in N1f3 (C.10).
Can I use my phone as a scoresheet? Not at a FIDE-rated event. Electronic devices need the arbiter's approval (11.3.2), and only an approved electronic scoresheet replaces paper.
Is there an official FIDE scoresheet? Not that we could find. FIDE, the ECF and the German Chess Federation don't appear to publish a blank template, and events hand out their own. Ours, in A4 and US Letter, uses the standard fields.
Checkmate IRL is the companion app for over-the-board chess: a chess clock that saves your results, an offline rating, and a map of places to play near you.