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Betza's funny notation, also referred to as Betza notation, is a compact method to describe the way pieces move in chess-like board games. It is in common use in the world of chess variants. It was originally invented by the American chess master Ralph Betza. There have been several proposals for its extension to games with more complex moves than the original system could handle. Betza notation is used in the XBoard graphical interface for chess-like games, where it can be used to configure the move generator used for highlighting possible moves, and preventing entry of illegal ones. It is more used to write down how a piece moves, rather than the actual notation for the piece. This can be a helpful shorthand for very large chess or especially shogi variants with various types of pieces.