analysis
What do the move symbols mean?
A quick guide to the star, plus, question marks, and move notation shown during review.
After analysis, Ironwood puts a symbol next to a move to summarize its move-quality label:
| Symbol | Ironwood label | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ★ | Best | Stockfish’s choice, or virtually no estimated loss. |
| + | Good | A sound move with only a small estimated loss. |
| ?! | Inaccuracy | A small missed opportunity. |
| ? | Mistake | A meaningful loss of chances. |
| ?? | Blunder | A severe loss of chances. |
These are Ironwood’s analysis marks. They are not move commands or a judgment of the player. A mark may change after the deeper critical-move check finishes. The thresholds use estimated loss of winning chances, so ? does not mean a fixed number of centipawns.
Do not confuse the + quality mark with + in chess move notation. In a move such as Qh5+, the trailing + means check: the move attacks the king. A trailing #, as in Qxf7#, means checkmate. O-O means castling toward the kingside and O-O-O means castling toward the queenside. See How to read chess moves for the rest of the notation.
Your own annotations
Use Annotations → Chess Symbols, or right-click a move and choose Add annotation… to add your own quality or position-assessment symbol. Manual annotations appear in gold beneath the move text and stay separate from Stockfish’s marks. See Taking notes and adding annotations for the symbols, editing steps, and export behavior.
Browse the full annotation set
Open Annotations → Chess Symbols. Common symbols are available directly; More symbols searches descriptions and numeric codes such as $37 (Black’s initiative). The applied-symbol list shows what is attached to the selected position; click an entry to remove it.
Ironwood preserves valid PGN numeric annotation glyphs $0 through $255 in saved data, annotated PGN, and Analysis JSON. Descriptions cover the original standard meanings through $139. Other values remain visible as $number with an unassigned or program-specific description, rather than silently disappearing or assuming another program’s convention. Move rows keep compact symbols or codes; hover for descriptions. Written-note views and reports show descriptions too. The right-click menu remains focused on common symbols.