Template:Chess diagram/doc

This is a documentation subpage for Template:Chess diagram and related templates.
It may contain usage information, categories and other content that is not part of the original template page.

This template uses Lua:

Module:Chessboard (sandbox)

These templates shows a chess diagram, a graphic representation of a position in a chess game, using standardised symbols resembling the pieces of the standard Staunton chess set. The default template for a standard chess board is {{Chess diagram}}. This documentation covers all related templates.

Templates

There are several standard chess diagram templates:

Template:Chess diagram (square size 26x26 px)
Template:Chess diagram small (square size 22x22 px)
Template:Chess diagram 4x4 (square size 26x26 px)
Template:Chess diagram 4x5 (square size 26x26 px)
Template:Chess diagram 5x5 (square size 26x26 px)
Template:Chess diagram 5x6 (square size 26x26 px)
Template:Chess diagram 6x6 (square size 26x26 px)
Template:Chess diagram 8x10 (Capablanca Chess square size 26x26 px)
Template:Chess diagram 8x10 small (Capablanca Chess square size 22x22 px)
Template:Chess diagram 9x9 (square size 26x26 px)
Template:Chess diagram 10x10 (square size 26x26 px)
Template:Chess diagram 10x10 small (square size 22x22 px)
For other board sizes, use {{#invoke:chessboard mxn|board|cols=|rows=

There are also templates for chess variants:

Template:Alice chess diagram (Alice Chess, square size 22x22 px)
Template:Bughouse chess diagram (Bughouse chess, square size 22x22 px)
Template:Omega Chess diagram (Omega Chess with 10x10 board + 4 corners, 22x22 px)
Template:Tamerlane chess diagram (Tamerlane chess with 10x11 board + 2 citadels, 22x22 px)
Template:Raumschach diagram (5x5x5 board for one type of Three-dimensional chess, 22x22 px)
Template:3D chess diagram (3x8x8 board for some types of Three-dimensional chess, 22x22 px)

Syntax

The syntax is basically the same for all chess diagram templates.

{{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 = 
}}

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

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

Fairy Chess

There are also some fairy chess pieces available. In general, there is no convention for which inverted piece to use, but in general one should use something similar to how the fairy piece moves (e.g. a camel should use an inverted knight icon).

a = archbishop (princess)
c = chancellor (empress)
f = inverted king (mann)
g = inverted queen (grasshopper)
m = inverted rook (wazir or dabbaba)
B = inverted bishop (ferz or alfil/elephant)
N = inverted knight (nightrider)
h = inverted pawn (Berolina pawn)
e = elephant (alternate symbol)
s = boat
x = commoner
M = mann (alternate symbol)
C = centaur or amazon
F = ferz (alternate symbol)

Omega Chess pieces:

z = champion
w = wizard
t = fool (for Omega Chess Advanced)

Other suitable images include:

Other symbols

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
db = diagonal as black
da = down
dr = down & right
dw = diagonal as white

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

Standard diagram

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.

	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h
8									8
7									7
6									6
5									5
4									4
3									3
2									2
1									1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h

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
}}

	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h
8									8
7									7
6									6
5									5
4									4
3									3
2									2
1									1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h

Empty board

{{Chess diagram
| tright
| 

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

| Empty board
}}

Diagram with both captions

W. Langstaff, Chess Amateur 1922

	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h
8									8
7									7
6									6
5									5
4									4
3									3
2									2
1									1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h

Mate in 2

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 2''' {{pb}}This problem uses ''partial retrograde analysis'' method.
}}

Diagram without captions

	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h
8									8
7									7
6									6
5									5
4									4
3									3
2									2
1									1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h

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

This can be used to show how pieces move.

	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h
8									8
7									7
6									6
5									5
4									4
3									3
2									2
1									1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h

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.
}}

	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h
8									8
7									7
6									6
5									5
4									4
3									3
2									2
1									1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h

{{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:

	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h
8									8
7									7
6									6
5									5
4									4
3									3
2									2
1									1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h

{{Chess diagram
| tleft
| 

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

}}

Small diagram

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.

The Game of the Century

	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h
8									8
7									7
6									6
5									5
4									4
3									3
2									2
1									1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h

Position after 11.Bg5

{{Chess diagram small
| tright
| [[The Game of the Century (chess)|The Game of the Century]]

|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

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
}}

Gardner minichess

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
}}

	a	b	c	d	e	f
6							6
5							5
4							4
3							3
2							2
1							1
	a	b	c	d	e	f

Los Alamos chess

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
}}

	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h	i	j
8											8
7											7
6											6
5											5
4											4
3											3
2											2
1											1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h	i	j

Capablanca Chess

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
}}

	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h	i	j
10											10
9											9
8											8
7											7
6											6
5											5
4											4
3											3
2											2
1											1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h	i	j

Grand Chess

Double boards

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
}}

Team 2, Board A

Team 1, Board A

Team 2, Board B

Team 1, Board B

Bughouse setup and starting position

Alice Chess

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
}}

A

B

Position after 1.Nf3 e6 2.Ne5 Bc5

Different shaped board

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
}}

E

D

C

B

A

Raumschach starting position

Omega Chess – Template:Omega Chess diagram

{{Omega Chess diagram
|
| [[Omega Chess]] (10×10 + 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
}}

Omega Chess (10x10 + 4 corners)

	^<W4 _A	_B	_C	_D	_E	_F	_G	_H	_I	^W3> _J
9											9
8											8
7											7
6											6
5											5
4											4
3											3
2											2
1											1
0											0
	^A _<W1	^B	^C	^D	^E	^F	^G	^H	^I	^J _W2>

Omega Chess starting position

Tamerlane chess – Template:Tamerlane chess diagram

{{Tamerlane chess diagram
|
| [[Tamerlane chess]] (10×11 + 2 citadels)

   |ed|  |sd|  |md|  |md|  |sd|  |ed
|  |rd|nd|bd|Gd|gd|kd|qd|Gd|bd|nd|rd
   |pd|pd|pd|pd|pd|pd|pd|pd|pd|pd|pd
   |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  
   |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  
   |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  
   |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  
   |pl|pl|pl|pl|pl|pl|pl|pl|pl|pl|pl
   |rl|nl|bl|Gl|ql|kl|gl|Gl|bl|nl|rl|  
   |el|  |sl|  |ml|  |ml|  |sl|  |el

| Tamerlane chess "masculine" array starting position – see [[Tamerlane chess]] for the other two arrays

}}

Tamerlane chess (10×11 + 2 citadels)

	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h	i	j	k
10												10
9												9
8												8
7												7
6												6
5												5
4												4
3												3
2												2
1												1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h	i	j	k

Tamerlane chess "masculine" array starting position – see Tamerlane chess for the other two arrays

Alternative way to place the pieces: FEN

{{Chess diagram|fen=rnbqkbnr/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/RNBQKBNR|align=tleft}}

	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h
8									8
7									7
6									6
5									5
4									4
3									3
2									2
1									1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h

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}}

	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h
8									8
7									7
6									6
5									5
4									4
3									3
2									2
1									1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h

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:

While the "fen" parameter was first developed and tested with 8x8 boards, support for other sized boards is available. For example, here is the Grand Chess starting positiong represented with an FEN board:

{{Chess diagram 10x10
 |align=tleft
 |fen=r8r/1nbqkcabn1/pppppppppp/10/10/10/10/PPPPPPPPPP/1NBQKCABN1/R8R
 |footer=[[Grand Chess]] starting position
}}

	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h	i	j
10											10
9											9
8											8
7											7
6											6
5											5
4											4
3											3
2											2
1											1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h	i	j

Grand Chess starting position

Displaying the board from the Black's point of view

{{Chess diagram|fen=rnbqkbnr/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/RNBQKBNR|align=tleft|reverse=true}}

	h	g	f	e	d	c	b	a
1									1
2									2
3									3
4									4
5									5
6									6
7									7
8									8
	h	g	f	e	d	c	b	a

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.

Alternative way to place the pieces: PGN

{{Chess diagram|pgn=1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.f3 c5 4.d5 d6 5.e4 Bg7 6.Ne2 0-0 7.Nec3 Nh5 8.Bg5 Bf6 9.Bxf6 exf6 10.Qd2 f5 11.exf5 Bxf5 12.g4 Re8+ 13.Kd1 Bxb1 14.Rxb1 Qf6 15.gxh5 Qxf3+ 16.Kc2 Qxh1 17.Qf2!|align=tleft}}

	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h
8									8
7									7
6									6
5									5
4									4
3									3
2									2
1									1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h

It is possible to populate the board using Portable Game Notation (PGN), instead of positional parameters or FEN. Internally, the PGN is converted to an FEN using Module:Pgn. The other parameters (align, reverse, etc) are also applicable when using PGN.