#

The # sign at the end of a move means that the opposing king is under attack and no legal reply can remove that attack. This position is checkmate, so the game ends immediately.

Immediate checkmate

8

7

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2

a1

b

c

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f

g

h

Start

Qg7#

Qg7 will place the queen next to the black king on a protected square.

Before the finish

The black king is on h8 and is not yet in check. The white queen can move to a square protected by the king on f6.

1. Qg7 will place the queen next to the black king on a protected square.

In the standard form of algebraic notation, called Standard Algebraic Notation (SAN), Qxf7# reads as: the queen captures on f7 and gives mate. Q represents the queen, x describes the capture, and # describes the effect on the king. The mate sign comes at the end of the move.

Portable Game Notation (PGN), the plain-text format for game files, uses # as its standard form. On a tournament scoresheet governed by the International Chess Federation (FIDE), ++ is also accepted for mate and both marks are optional. PGN does not reserve ++ for double check: a check that is not mate uses +, while mate uses #.