Algebraic notation (or AN) is a method for recording and describing the moves in a game of chess. It is now standard among all chess organizations and most books, magazines, and newspapers. In English-speaking countries, algebraic notation replaced the parallel method of descriptive notation, which became common in the 19th century and continued with sporadic use as recently as the 1980s or 1990s. European countries, except England, used algebraic notation before the period when descriptive notation was common.