Answers.Body: <p>PGN files are normal text files. You can generate it to somepoint using the software and then save the file, open it in a text editor (notepad, notepad++, ...) and continue editing there.</p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2016-06-19T15:27:58.197Z
Answers.Text: Well, kind of a solution. I would like to have the support of the machine, and I would like to tell the machine that the one move  is the exception. So no, I won't accept that as an answer, thanks anyway.
Answers.UserDisplayName: mliebelt
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2020-11-02T21:15:38.577Z
Answers.Text: That’s the best answer you will get. PGN is NOT designed for illegal moves. You CAN write PGN files manually – that was intended when PGN was invented. You can use a graphic editor. I have never found one that really edits PGN in the specified way but with some unspecified changes, so those are not really PGN editors. You may find even one that allows illegal moves, but that is no PGN anymore.
Answers.UserDisplayName: Christian H. Kuhn
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2016-06-19T14:26:23.147Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2016-06-19T14:26:23.147Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: Jadi
Answers.Body: <p>Go to <a href="http://www.apronus.com/chess/wbeditor.php" rel="nofollow noreferrer">http://www.apronus.com/chess/wbeditor.php</a> and switch to "position setup". On the chessboard act out the full game including illegal moves, it doesn't matter to this interface, and click "animated diagram" and then save the gif file as a record of the complete game. It can be converted later to a video file that can be viewed more conveniently than an animated gif.<a href="https://i.sstatic.net/sTAel.gif" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/sTAel.gif" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2016-07-27T20:56:58.140Z
Answers.Text: Looks interesting have to check it out. Thanks! !
Answers.UserDisplayName: mliebelt
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2016-07-27T20:51:19.517Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2016-07-27T20:51:19.517Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: MichalRyszardWojcik
Answers.Body: <p>I am very late to this question, but I have used <a href="https://apps.apple.com/us/app/chess-score-pad/id518018730" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Chess Score Pad (for iOS only)</a> to record my sons games for the past 7 years. Arbiters have been happy for me to stand behind my son and record the game with this software because it has no engine (and if you try and change to something else the PGN is closed - no more entry possible). The best part is it allows illegal moves to be entered. It's perfect for recording young peoples games!</p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2020-11-02T15:52:32.757Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2020-11-02T15:52:32.757Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: Jason Walls
Body: <p>I was as chess trainer with some young guys on a tournament, and wrote down some of their games. In nearly every game, there were wrong moves in it: king is in check, but does not move or react; making a move with a pawn more than one square, etc.</p>
  
  <p>The strange thing now is, that I have not found any program (chessbase or other) that allows to write down the notation with wrong moves in it. Is there any program that supports that? I know, they should play only legal moves, but in a rapid chess game (of 7 year old boys), non-legal moves are common.</p>
  
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2016-06-18T19:43:46.453Z
Comments.Text: I can write such a program for money.
Comments.UserDisplayName: MichalRyszardWojcik
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2016-06-18T21:04:21.183Z
Comments.Text: Me to, but that is not the point. I have not seen the feature to accept wrong moves in any program I have used.
Comments.UserDisplayName: mliebelt
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2016-06-18T21:18:14.713Z
Comments.Text: I used to have this feature available on my chess editor website but I have disabled it. Didn't think it was useful to anyone.
Comments.UserDisplayName: MichalRyszardWojcik
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2016-06-18T23:43:37.877Z
Comments.Text: https://www.chess.com/forum/view/help-support/illegal-moves.  I can "edit" the chesspad program, for free, but that would be illegal.
Comments.UserDisplayName: Mike Jones
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2016-06-18T23:50:28.100Z
Comments.Text: http://www.caissa.com/chess-tools/chess-game-viewer.php allows you to make illegal moves, but have not tested importing pgn.
Comments.UserDisplayName: Mike Jones
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2016-06-19T11:43:16.147Z
Comments.Text: PGN is just a text file, so worst case, you can use a text editor. But that won't help when you try to use chess software to play through one of those games.
Comments.UserDisplayName: Pete Becker
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2016-06-19T13:26:38.970Z
Comments.Text: As others have indicated, Nothing stops you from just writing down illegal moves.  PGN by definition is a (somewhat) human + (intended for) machine readable format.  Violation of the latter means what you're jotting down is gobbledygook (from the machine's standpoint).
  
  I do appreciate the motivation though (having coached 5-7 year olds who used to bring back some horribly written move lists from their OTB games)  This would actually be worth writing some fun software for.  I can think of some heuristics to suggest "corrections" as well to repair a badly written game into legit PGN. :)
Comments.UserDisplayName: shivsky
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2016-06-19T15:40:45.110Z
Comments.Text: @MikeJones: I have tried to import a chess game (with wrong moves) by using the mouse, but did not succeed. I have not tried to import a game with wrong moves, though. How do you get a game recorded by playing moves?
Comments.UserDisplayName: mliebelt
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2016-06-19T15:43:34.680Z
Comments.Text: Your question doesn't make sense because as many have pointed out pgn is just text and you can write whatever you like. What do you want to do with the pgn? Just play through the game in an engine? Then save as 2 pgns, one up to the illegal move and second with position after illegal move plus following moves. Do something similar if you want engine analysis.
Comments.UserDisplayName: Brian Towers
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2016-06-19T15:48:37.410Z
Comments.Text: Just as an example: I want to record the games as PGN with a computer (not using a text editor, but a chess board); the first game I have checked hat ~ 10 errors: save 10 games, with the starting position from the last bad move? Ever recorded a rapid chess game (40 moves in 10 minutes) and tried  to play through it? So using a machine to clean up the mess is a good idea, and having help by a computer is valuable as well. So yes, I would like to have a flag in chessbase, to only warn me when wrong moves are made. And yes, I would like the extension in PGN as well.
Comments.UserDisplayName: mliebelt
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2016-07-25T08:40:03.903Z
Comments.Text: An alternative solution to record a full game with illegal situations is to generate a sequence of images showing the diagrams move by move and then join them into a single animated gif file or a video file. Illegal diagrams can be generated at http://www.apronus.com/chess/wbeditor.php and images can be joined at http://gifmaker.me/ - or even better to generate animated gifs for the legal sequences and only join these legal sequences, using the same tools.
Comments.UserDisplayName: MichalRyszardWojcik
Tags: <pgn><illegal-move>
Title: How to create PGN notation with wrong moves in it?
ThreadText: # How to create PGN notation with wrong moves in it?
  
  (Asked by: username_0 on 2016-06-18)
  
  I was as chess trainer with some young guys on a tournament, and wrote down some of their games. In nearly every game, there were wrong moves in it: king is in check, but does not move or react; making a move with a pawn more than one square, etc.
  
  The strange thing now is, that I have not found any program (chessbase or other) that allows to write down the notation with wrong moves in it. Is there any program that supports that? I know, they should play only legal moves, but in a rapid chess game (of 7 year old boys), non-legal moves are common.
  
  **Tags:** pgn, illegal-move
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_1**: I can write such a program for money.  
  > **username_0**: Me to, but that is not the point. I have not seen the feature to accept wrong moves in any program I have used.  
  > **username_1**: I used to have this feature available on my chess editor website but I have disabled it. Didn't think it was useful to anyone.  
  > **username_2**: https://www.chess.com/forum/view/help-support/illegal-moves.  I can "edit" the chesspad program, for free, but that would be illegal.  
  > **username_2**: http://www.caissa.com/chess-tools/chess-game-viewer.php allows you to make illegal moves, but have not tested importing pgn.  
  > **username_3**: PGN is just a text file, so worst case, you can use a text editor. But that won't help when you try to use chess software to play through one of those games.  
  > **username_4**: As others have indicated, Nothing stops you from just writing down illegal moves.  PGN by definition is a (somewhat) human + (intended for) machine readable format.  Violation of the latter means what you're jotting down is gobbledygook (from the machine's standpoint).  I do appreciate the motivation though (having coached 5-7 year olds who used to bring back some horribly written move lists from their OTB games)  This would actually be worth writing some fun software for.  I can think of some heuristics to suggest "corrections" as well to repair a badly written game into legit PGN. :)  
  > **username_0**: @MikeJones: I have tried to import a chess game (with wrong moves) by using the mouse, but did not succeed. I have not tried to import a game with wrong moves, though. How do you get a game recorded by playing moves?  
  > **username_5**: Your question doesn't make sense because as many have pointed out pgn is just text and you can write whatever you like. What do you want to do with the pgn? Just play through the game in an engine? Then save as 2 pgns, one up to the illegal move and second with position after illegal move plus following moves. Do something similar if you want engine analysis.  
  > **username_0**: Just as an example: I want to record the games as PGN with a computer (not using a text editor, but a chess board); the first game I have checked hat ~ 10 errors: save 10 games, with the starting position from the last bad move? Ever recorded a rapid chess game (40 moves in 10 minutes) and tried  to play through it? So using a machine to clean up the mess is a good idea, and having help by a computer is valuable as well. So yes, I would like to have a flag in chessbase, to only warn me when wrong moves are made. And yes, I would like the extension in PGN as well.  
  > **username_1**: An alternative solution to record a full game with illegal situations is to generate a sequence of images showing the diagrams move by move and then join them into a single animated gif file or a video file. Illegal diagrams can be generated at http://www.apronus.com/chess/wbeditor.php and images can be joined at http://gifmaker.me/ - or even better to generate animated gifs for the legal sequences and only join these legal sequences, using the same tools.  
  
  ---
  
  ## 3 answers
  
  ### Answer by username_6 on 2016-06-19. Score: 10
  
  PGN files are normal text files. You can generate it to somepoint using the software and then save the file, open it in a text editor (notepad, notepad++, ...) and continue editing there.
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_0**: Well, kind of a solution. I would like to have the support of the machine, and I would like to tell the machine that the one move  is the exception. So no, I won't accept that as an answer, thanks anyway.  
  > **username_7**: That’s the best answer you will get. PGN is NOT designed for illegal moves. You CAN write PGN files manually – that was intended when PGN was invented. You can use a graphic editor. I have never found one that really edits PGN in the specified way but with some unspecified changes, so those are not really PGN editors. You may find even one that allows illegal moves, but that is no PGN anymore.  
  
  ---
  
  ### Answer by username_1 on 2016-07-27. Score: 4
  
  Go to <http://www.apronus.com/chess/wbeditor.php> and switch to "position setup". On the chessboard act out the full game including illegal moves, it doesn't matter to this interface, and click "animated diagram" and then save the gif file as a record of the complete game. It can be converted later to a video file that can be viewed more conveniently than an animated gif.[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/sTAel.gif)](https://i.sstatic.net/sTAel.gif)
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_0**: Looks interesting have to check it out. Thanks! !  
  
  ---
  
  ### Answer by username_8 on 2020-11-02. Score: 3
  
  I am very late to this question, but I have used [Chess Score Pad (for iOS only)](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/chess-score-pad/id518018730) to record my sons games for the past 7 years. Arbiters have been happy for me to stand behind my son and record the game with this software because it has no engine (and if you try and change to something else the PGN is closed - no more entry possible). The best part is it allows illegal moves to be entered. It's perfect for recording young peoples games!
  
  
  ---
  
  