Punctuation (chess)

When annotating chess games, question marks and exclamation marks are frequently used by annotators commenting on the game to label a move as bad or praise the move as a good one. The usual symbols used are "?", "??", "!", "!!", "?!" and "!?". The symbol is attached immediately after the move (e.g. Re7? or Kh1!?). Use of the annotation symbols are always somewhat subjective, and different annotators will often wind up using the symbols differently.

Common symbols

?: Mistake

Appendicing a single question mark, "?" after a move indicates that the annotator thinks that the move is a poor one that should not be played. However the nature of the mistake may be more strategic in nature, or the refutation of the move receiving a question mark may be difficult to find.

??: Blunder

The double question mark "??" indicates a blunder, that is a move so bad that it cannot be explained by the player not knowing any better. Typical moves which receive double question marks are overlooking that the queen is under attack or overlooking a checkmate. Whether a single or double question mark is used is often dependent on the player's strength. For instance, if a beginner makes a serious strategic error or overlooks a tactical sequence, this might be explained by the beginner's lack of skill, and the mistake will only receive one question mark. If a master were to make the same move annotators will often attach the double question mark to indicate that the mistake is not at all indicative of the player's strength. Players annotating their own losses often attach double question marks to their own mistakes as a way of saying "I really am a much better player than what this move indicates".

A blunder does not need to mean that the move utterly destroys the position, if a player overlooks that he can checkmate his opponent in one move, and instead decides to enter a winning endgame, that move may receive a double query, even though the one playing it is still winning.

!: Good move

While question marks indicate bad moves, exclamation marks ("!") indicate good moves. However annotators are usually somewhat stingy with the use of this symbol, not all good moves deserve a exclamation mark. Usually the move must demonstrate the player's skill. For example, few annotators would comment a game like this: 1.e4! c5! 2.Nf3! d6!. All the moves of this mainline Sicilian Defense are good ones, but the players have not really demonstrated much skill by playing through well known opening theory. Once the players start making good choices when faced with difficult decisions however, some of the moves may receive exclamation marks by annotators. Typical moves receiving exclamation marks are good opening novelties, well timed breakthroughs, sound sacrifices and moves which avoid falling into traps.

!!: Brilliant move

The double exclamation mark ("!!") is used to praise a move which the annotator thinks really shows the player's skill. Such moves are usually hard to find. This might be a sound sacrifice of large amounts of material, or moves which at first glance seem very counter-intuitive.

!?: Interesting move

The "!?" is one of the more controversial symbols. Different books have slightly varying definitions. Among the definitions are "Interesting move", "move deserving attention", "enterprising move" and "risky move". Andrew Soltis has called "!?" the symbol of the lazy annotator who finds the move interesting but cannot be bothered to work out if it is good or bad. Usually it indicates that the move leads to exciting or wild play and that the move is probably good. It is also often used when a player makes a cunning trap in a lost position. Typical moves receiving a "!?" are speculative sacrifices and dangerous attacking tries which might be strategically deficient.

?!: Dubious move

This symbol is similar to the "!?" but usually indicates that the annotator believes the move to be objectively bad, albeit hard to refute. The "?!" is also often used instead of a "?" to indicate that the move is not all bad. A sacrifice leading to a dangerous attack which the opponent should be able to defend against if he plays well may receive a "?!".

Other symbols

Some annotators put together even more question marks and exclamation marks. For example "????" might indicate an outright horrid move, too horrid to give a mere "??". However, use of such symbols is not common.

The Nunn Convention

In his book Secrets of Rook Endings (Gambit, 1992), John Nunn uses these symbols in a more specific way in the context of endgames where the optimal line of play can be determined with some certainty:

• ! – the only move which maintains the current evaluation of the position: if the position is theoretically drawn, this is the only move which does not lose; if the position is theoretically won, this is the only move which secures the win
• !! – A particularly difficult to find ! move
• ? – a move which negatively affects the evaluation of the position: if the position was drawn before the move, it is now lost; if it was won before the move, it is now drawn or lost
• ?? – an obviously bad ? move
• !? – a move which makes the opponent's task harder or one's own task easier; for example, in a theoretically lost position, a move which forces the opponent to find several ! moves in order to win
• ?! – a move which makes the opponent's task easier or one's own task harder; for example, in a theoretically won position, a move which requires several subsequent ! moves in order to win

This convention has been used in some later works, such as Karsten Muller and Frank Lamprecht's Fundamental Chess Endings (Gambit, 2001), but it can be safely assumed the convention is not being used unless there is a specific note to the effect that it is.