RAV in PGN: Recursive Annotation Variation

Explanation

RAV stands for Recursive Annotation Variation. It is a structure in Portable Game Notation (PGN), the plain-text format used to exchange chess games. A RAV contains one or more moves in parentheses and represents a legal .

How to read a RAV

Find the move immediately before the opening parenthesis.
Undo that move mentally to restore the previous position.
Play the parenthesized sequence from that restored position as the alternative.

In 1. e4 e5 (1... c5), the branch 1... c5 replaces 1... e5; it does not continue from the position after e5. The show that the alternative is a Black move. The structure is recursive because one RAV may contain another, creating an analysis tree while preserving the .

Common confusions

RAV and variation

Variation is the general chess idea of an alternative line. RAV is the specific PGN structure that stores such a line in parentheses and permits nesting.

View term

Sources

1.Standard: Portable Game Notation Specification and Implementation Guide, rec.games.chess contributors, coordinated by Steven J. Edwards
2.Variations, ChessBase