Notation

Notation — connector documentation

• MCP endpoint: https://notation.connectorbay.com/mcp
• REST API: POST https://notation.connectorbay.com/v1/tools/{tool_name}, described by the OpenAPI 3.1 spec at https://notation.connectorbay.com/openapi.json
• Transport: Streamable HTTP, stateless, MCP specification 2025-06-18 or later
• Authentication: none required. An optional Authorization: Bearer <key> raises rate limits.
• Health: https://notation.connectorbay.com/health · Tool schemas: https://notation.connectorbay.com/tools.json
• Publisher: Unify Dynamics LLC · connectorbay.com/notation · agent@connectorbay.com

What Notation is for

Chess algebraic notation & game-recording formats — SAN, FEN, PGN, and other games for contrast.

What it does

Notation is a fully local, hand-curated reference for chess algebraic notation and game-recording formats. symbol_glossary defines any notation symbol (piece letters, x, +, #, O-O/O-O-O, =, annotation glyphs like ! and ?, result markers, evaluation symbols) or lists them all. notation_explainer gives a fuller explanation of a broader topic: algebraic vs descriptive notation, disambiguation, PGN structure, castling/promotion/check notation, long vs short algebraic, ICCF numeric notation, and more. parse_example takes a short move sequence or single move you supply and walks through what each token means in plain English, as an educational syntax walkthrough — not a chess engine, no move-legality validation. fen_field_explainer covers FEN's six fields one at a time or all together. pgn_tag_reference covers the Seven Tag Roster plus common supplemental PGN tags. format_comparison lines up two named notation systems side by side, including other games' own conventions (Go, xiangqi, shogi, draughts, backgammon, Scrabble, contract bridge) for contrast. term_glossary defines general notation vocabulary (ply, SAN, LAN, NAG, tag pair, movetext, ECO code...). history_note gives short, verified historical notes on how these systems came about. Keyless; fully local; zero upstream calls; nothing stored.

What it is not

Not an official product of, or affiliated with, any brand, league, publisher, or organization it may factually mention. Notation is a hand-curated reference and design tool, not a substitute for an official rulebook, certified instruction, or professional advice. Fully local, zero upstream calls, nothing stored.

Tools

Look Up a Symbol or Topic

symbol_glossary — Defines one chess notation symbol — piece letters (K Q R B N), action marks (x, +, #, O-O, O-O-O, =), annotation glyphs (! ? !! ?? !? ?!), result markers (1-0, 0-1, 1/2-1/2, *), and evaluation symbols (±, ∓, ∞, ...) — or lists every symbol this reference covers. Use for "what does x mean in chess notation", "what's the difference between + and #", "what does O-O mean". Args: symbol.

notation_explainer — A fuller, prose explanation of one broader notation topic: algebraic vs descriptive notation, disambiguation rules, PGN's tag-pair-plus-movetext structure, castling/promotion/check notation, long algebraic (LAN) vs standard algebraic (SAN), ICCF numeric notation, move numbering and the ellipsis for Black-to-move, NAGs, reading a scoresheet, and ECO opening codes. Use for "explain disambiguation in chess notation", "how does PGN store a game", "what's long algebraic notation". Args: topic.

term_glossary — Defines general notation and game-recording vocabulary — ply, half-move, full move, SAN, LAN, FEN, PGN, NAG, tag pair, movetext, ECO code, scoresheet, disambiguator, rank, file, square coordinate, ellipsis, underpromotion, coordinate notation, portable format — distinct from symbol_glossary's in-move symbols. Use for "what's a ply", "what's the difference between SAN and LAN", "what's a NAG". Args: term.

Walk Through an Example

parse_example — Given a short algebraic move sequence or single move you supply, walks through what each token means in plain English: which piece moves where, why a disambiguating letter/number is there if one is present, whether it's a capture, castling, promotion, check, or checkmate, and what any trailing annotation (!, ?, etc.) means. This is an educational walkthrough of the notation syntax in the string you give it — it does NOT validate that the position is reachable or that the move is actually legal on a real board; it never checks anything against an actual game state. If given something that looks like a FEN position string instead of a move sequence, it says so and points to fen_field_explainer instead. Use for "what does exd8=Q+ mean", "walk me through 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5", "what does Nbd7 mean and why the b". Args: notation_string.

FEN & PGN Reference

fen_field_explainer — Explains one of FEN's six space-separated fields (piece placement, active color, castling availability, en passant target square, halfmove clock, fullmove number) with an example value and notes, or returns all six in order when no field is given. Use for "what's the third field in a FEN string", "what does the en passant field in FEN mean", "explain FEN field by field". Args: field_name.

pgn_tag_reference — Looks up one PGN tag pair (what it holds, whether it's part of the mandatory Seven Tag Roster, and an example) or lists every tag this reference covers, roster tags first. Use for "what does the ECO tag hold", "what are the seven required PGN tags", "how do you mark a custom starting position in PGN". Args: tag_name.

Compare & History

format_comparison — Lines up two named notation/recording systems side by side: what each records (a move, a position, or a full game), its coordinate scheme, how it identifies pieces (if at all), roughly when/why it arose, and whether it's human-readable and/or machine-parseable. Covers chess's own systems (algebraic, descriptive, long algebraic, ICCF numeric, FEN, PGN) plus, for contrast, other games' conventions (Go coordinate notation and SGF, xiangqi, shogi, draughts, backgammon, Scrabble, contract bridge). If a name isn't recognized, the error lists every valid system id. Use for "algebraic vs descriptive notation, what's different", "how does chess notation compare to Go notation", "PGN vs FEN, what's the difference". Args: a, b.

history_note — Short, verified historical notes on how these notation systems came about: algebraic notation's 18th-19th century roots, FIDE's 1981 mandate that retired descriptive notation, David Forsyth's newspaper diagram notation behind FEN, Steven Edwards's early-1990s FEN/PGN standards, ICCF's numeric notation, and Go's SGF format. Use for "when did algebraic notation become standard", "who invented FEN", "history of PGN". Args: topic.

Conventions

• Read-only. Every tool reads public data or computes; nothing is written anywhere and nothing about the user is stored.
• Result envelope. ok: true with data, or ok: false with a structured error (bad_input, not_found, upstream_error). degraded lists optional sources that were unreachable.
• Rate limits. Free tier 60 tool calls/minute and 300/day per user (keyed on the user identifier supplied by the host agent, else client IP); Pro keys raise this. Over-limit calls return HTTP 429 with Retry-After. initialize and tools/list are never counted.

Support

agent@connectorbay.com · connectorbay.com/notation/support

Notation — Privacy Policy

Effective 25 September 2026. Unify Dynamics LLC ("we", "us"), Menlo Park, California.

What Notation is. Notation is a connector (an MCP server and REST API) that AI assistants and personal agents call on your behalf for chess algebraic notation & game-recording formats — SAN, FEN, PGN, and other games for contrast. You interact with your assistant; the assistant sends us only the arguments needed for that one lookup.

What we receive. The arguments of each tool call, the technical headers needed to serve the request (an IP address or a client identifier supplied by the assistant, and a Pro API key if you have one), and standard server logs.

Everything is answered from a bundled, hand-curated reference file and nothing is stored. No request is forwarded to any third party — there is no upstream call at all, live or otherwise — and no query is logged in request bodies, recorded, or used to train anything.

What we do not receive or store. We do not receive your conversation with the assistant or your name, and we do not build a profile from your queries: each request is answered independently and nothing carries over between requests. Rate-limit counters (a client identifier and timestamps) are held in memory for at most 24 hours. Hosting-provider access logs, which contain IP addresses and request paths but not request bodies, are retained for up to 30 days for security and abuse prevention.

Sub-processors. None — the entire dataset is bundled with the server and answered locally. Hosting: Vercel (United States regions).

Legal bases and your rights. Our processing is necessary to provide the service you request through your assistant. Because we store no personal data beyond short-lived logs, requests to access, correct or delete personal data are usually satisfied automatically; you can still contact agent@connectorbay.com and we will respond within 30 days. We do not sell or share personal information and do not use your data to train models.

Children. Notation is a general-audience service operated by the adult using the assistant.

Changes. We will post changes here with a new effective date.

Notation — Terms of Service

Effective 25 September 2026. These terms govern use of the Notation connector ("the Service") operated by Unify Dynamics LLC ("we", "us").

1. The Service. Notation is a fully local, hand-curated reference for chess algebraic notation and game-recording formats.
2. A reference, not professional advice. Notation is an independent reference and hobby/game-design tool, not affiliated with or endorsed by any brand, organization, league, or publisher it may factually mention. It does not provide legal, financial, medical, or safety-certification advice, and is not a substitute for supervised instruction where real physical risk is involved.
3. Content varies. Rules, terminology and conventions described here reflect commonly-cited general practice; local house rules, regional variants, and official governing-body rulebooks may differ.
4. Acceptable use. Automated use within the published rate limits is welcome.
5. Availability. The Service is provided "as is" without warranty. We may change, limit or discontinue it at any time.
6. Data. Our Privacy Policy describes what we process. In short: your query is answered from a bundled reference file, and nothing is stored.
7. Pro keys. Optional Pro API keys are issued at our discretion, are personal to the holder and may be revoked for abuse.
8. Liability. To the fullest extent permitted by law, Unify Dynamics LLC is not liable for any loss arising from use of or reliance on the Service. Our total liability is limited to US $100.
9. Governing law. California law; venue in San Mateo County, California.
10. Contact. Unify Dynamics LLC · agent@connectorbay.com · https://connectorbay.com/notation

Notation support

Email agent@connectorbay.com. We answer within two business days.

• MCP endpoint: https://notation.connectorbay.com/mcp
• REST API: https://notation.connectorbay.com/openapi.json
• Live status: https://notation.connectorbay.com/health

When you report a problem, include the question you asked your agent, roughly when, and which agent you used (for example Claude, ChatGPT or Gemini). Never send us passwords, account numbers or ID numbers. Notation never asks for them.