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From: lazarus@brahms.BERKELEY.EDU (Andrew J &)
Newsgroups: net.games.chess
Subject: Re: Chess Notations
Message-ID: <10989@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU>
Date: Sat, 16-Nov-85 23:29:35 EST
Article-I.D.: ucbvax.10989
Posted: Sat Nov 16 23:29:35 1985
Date-Received: Tue, 19-Nov-85 04:05:35 EST
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Sender: usenet@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Reply-To: lazarus@brahms.UUCP (Andrew J Lazarus)
Organization: University of California, Berkeley
Lines: 21
Summary: Notational differences


Descriptive notation is still prevalent in South America,
at least Argentina and Brasil.

Anyone who has read Spanish descriptive (and I speak
pretty good Spanish) will appreciate the convenience
of algebraic notation in which only the initial character
varies.  As a tournament director I have read scoresheets
in Spanish, French, German, Russian, Polish, Finnish, and
even Hebrew algebraic.  (Plus one eccentric who drew figurines.)

I find it easier to use descriptive but in an international
spirit I abandoned it years ago.

I really don't understand the postings ridiculing figurines.
It looks neat and promotes sales of polyglot (or hieroglyphic)
books such as _Encyclopedia of Chess Openings_.  The Ancient
Greeks did a lot of math in words but since Viete introduced
algebraic symbols like 'x' the pace of research has accelerated.:-)

andy