Theoretical-novelty annotation symbol

N marks a theoretical novelty. Opening theory is the accumulated knowledge of early-game moves, built from published games, analysis, and studied sequences. The mark is placed beside the first move an annotator considers a new and relevant departure from that knowledge.

A novelty is always relative to a source and a date. One database may lack an earlier game that another contains, and a move may have been analyzed without appearing in a published game. The N therefore communicates an editorial claim that something new begins there, but it does not prove that nobody ever played or considered the move before.

The mark does not evaluate the move's quality. A novelty can be strong, dubious, or bad and may receive another sign as well. In English algebraic notation, N also abbreviates knight; its placement beside a completed move and the document's formatting distinguish the two uses.