PCN Examples

Comprehensive examples demonstrating Portable Chess Notation v1.0.0 across various recording scenarios, time control systems, and game types.

All examples are available in both TOML and JSON formats.

Available Examples

Minimal Documents

Smallest valid PCN documents, from absolute minimum to basic records.

Time Control Systems

Demonstrations of PCN’s period-based time control: Fischer, byōyomi, Canadian, multi-period configurations.

Traditional Games

Standard board game recordings: Western Chess, Japanese Shōgi, Chinese Xiangqi.

Special Moves

Non-standard move mechanics using PMN: castling, en passant, promotion, drops, static captures.

Variations and Analysis

Games with alternative lines, nested variations, and analytical commentary.

Game Outcomes

Examples of different termination scenarios: checkmate, resignation, draw offers, time forfeit.

Cross-Variant Games

Games where players use different variants: Chess vs Makruk, Chess vs Shōgi.

Positions Without Moves

PCN documents for position recording: puzzles, endgame studies, opening positions.

Complete Game Records

Full-featured examples combining metadata, links, players, time control, plies, variations, and outcomes.

Quick Reference

Document Structure

┌─────────────────────────────────────┐
│ meta        (optional)              │
│ links       (optional)              │
│ periods     (optional)              │
│ sides       (optional)              │
│ setup       (required)              │
│ plies       (optional)              │
│ outcome     (optional)              │
└─────────────────────────────────────┘

Key Concepts

Concept	Description
setup	Initial position (FEEN format) — the only required section
plies	Alternating sequence of moves from both players
periods	Match-wide time control (shared by both players)
variations	Alternative lines attached to any ply
outcome	Match result in PGN format (`"1-0"`, `"0-1"`, `"1/2-1/2"`)

Ply Properties

Property	Description
`pmn`	Move in PMN format
`feen`	Resulting position
`elapsed_ms`	Thinking time in milliseconds
`assessment`	Move quality (`"good"`, `"mistake"`, `"brilliant"`, `"blunder"`, `"interesting"`, `"dubious"`)
`check`	Whether the move delivers check
`mate`	Whether the move delivers checkmate
`comment`	Free-text annotation
`variations`	Alternative lines

If you want to…	Start with…
Understand the minimal structure	Minimal Documents
Implement time control	Time Control Systems
Record special moves	Special Moves
Add analysis and variations	Variations and Analysis
Handle game endings	Game Outcomes
Record cross-variant games	Cross-Variant Games
See complete examples	Complete Game Records