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