| + | Check |
| ++ | Double check |
| # | Checkmate |
| x | Capture |
| 0-0 | Castles kingside |
| 0-0-0 | Castles queenside |
| !! | Brilliant move |
| ! | Good move |
| !? | Interesting move |
| ?! | Dubious move |
| ? | Bad move |
| ?? | Blunder |
| Ch | Championship |
| (n) | nth match game |
| GM | Grandmaster |
| IM | International Master |
| FM | FIDE Master |
| FIDE | Fédération Internationale des Echecs (World Chess Federation) |
| PCA | Professional Chess Association |
| GMA | Grandmasters Association |
| USCF | United States Chess Federation |
| ECF | English Chess Federation |
When a game mentioned is annotated in The Mammoth Book of the World’s Greatest Chess Games, this is indicated by WGG followed by the game number.