do you have a chessboard with notation or without

what do you prefer and why

I prefer without; it simply looks aesthetically better to my eyes, and I've gotten to the point where I can identify squares well enough without the labeling. But that's just my preference.

I have two without and several with. I prefer the wood board, which is without.

I prefer one with notation. My main board is tournament size roll up. I'm in the market for an affordable wood chessboard (study size) with notation.  

Why? As a beginner, it's easier to go through move sequences out of a book with a notated chessboard.

Without, always.

Sort of off topic, I once played in a tournament, and we had a marked board. About 5 moves in, my opponent noticed that the board was upside down, g8 [edit h8, duh!] was where a1 should be. He wanted to turn the board around and set up th position again. I thought it was silly to interrupt the game for something so trivial, and objected, but got overruled by the TD.

Is there a rule for this?

 I do not think that there is an official rule for this (although I may be wrong) and it is one of the many reasons a TD is appointed to make calls like this.

Another TD may have made a different decision.

I don't have any chess boards with notation but I wouldn't object to having one. I could see why it would be useful for studying with.

Mine has notation but not by choice -- for the type I wanted it was the only option but now that I have it I don't mind -- also it helps in tournaments for players who aren't used to keeping score.

To see if you're dependent on the notation though, try playing through a game with the board upside down and see if you get confused a lot

I've seen entire game scores where the player followed the notation printed and the board was set wrong. Happens a lot at children's tournaments.

1.d5 d4 2.Nc6 Nf3 3.Bb4

Try following such a game on a board without.

MY tourney rollup has it. Can you even buy one with out it? Also my wood board I use at home has it.

All tho I do 90% of my training on the computer.

Yes. I have one roll up board without notation. I prefer it with my large plastic pieces (4 inch king) because the squares are slightly larger. I bought it from Wholesale Chess, but cannot find it on their website now. See No-Notation Vinyl Chessboard.

i have one really nice wooden board without them, and to be honest, i prefer them.  sometimes, in the heat of a tournament battle, it is VERY easy to mix squares up, even with them there!  so i plan on adding them to that one.  i really feel they are useful.  :)

I have an option to get a board with or without. I wanted to go with without because i can easily remember the spots with experience but now I don't know. Also without looks better on furniture.

When I first started out, I got a small chessboard, and I painted the annotations on it, it was just impossible to follow anything without, as a complete beginner, you don´t where g5 is without taking a extra second to think.

By mere chance I got it right, whew, as if I knew that h1 is always white.

I agree with post 2 -- the boards just look better without. I don't mind it so much on a vinyl roll-up or mousepad board, but I can't stand notation on a wood board. It's too ugly and distracting. Besides, I took the training wheels off a long time ago and just learned the notation. Not having it there as a crutch just speeds the learning process.

If there would ever be a moment in a tournament where I'd struggle with notation, I could always just revert to descriptive for a move or two.

I prefer with the notations. It's easier when writing down moves.

If I have prior knowledge that my opponent needs the notation along the sides, and I have Black, I will almost certainly set up my board that lacks notation. I love watching my opponent manually count squares to record each move, while I'm contemplating strategy.

Indeed, this thread motivates me to renew my search for a decent carrying bag for my wooden board so I might start using it in weekend tournaments.

I was just wondering why somebody can't just play a game without trying to gain an un fair advantage.  I just bought a wooden board at Walmart, without it. I'm new to this game, but I figure if you can learn chess, you can learn notation.

Ziryab is also well known for collecting the rent on helpless maidens while twirling his black mustachio

e.g.

Ziryab: "You must pay the rent!"

Maiden: "I cannot pay the rent!"

Ziryab: "You must pay the rent!"

etcetera etcetera

That's my point.

I'm not seeking an unfair advantage; rather, I'm always looking for ways to teach players to overcome artificial handicaps. When the printing along the side of the board becomes a crutch, it's time to play without it.