This annotation is very rare. I have seen GM games annotated and I have never see this annotation, although it could be used for tricky moves like Qh4 from the 8th game of Ian Nepomniachtchi vs Ding Liren.
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By the way, long time ago both "!?" and "?!" were used. They meant "dubious but probably good" and "dubious but probably bad" respectively.– emdioCommented Sep 6 at 6:05
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2 Answers
The !? annotation indicates that the move is interesting. "Interesting" is obviously subjective, and it suggests that the move deserves more analysis.
But these days with superhuman engines, there are few positions where the engine can't immediately tell you if the move is good or not. Therefore, there are fewer interesting moves.
You'll find more !? in old chess books.
NB: For the same reason, you'll find annotations such as Qe2 (!) (which means some players think the move deserves an exclamation mark, and others do not) rare.
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2Although one should in chess strive generally to play moves that will be good even if a human plays perfectly, that isn't always the best course of action in live games, especially if an opponet faces time pressure. If an opponent has a minute left, a move which trades down material to an easy draw may be inferior to one which leaves a complex position where an opponent would, but for time, have a possibly winning advantage but which would be much harder for the opponent to convert or simplify without making a fatal mistake or flagging.– supercatCommented Sep 2 at 15:52
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3Indeed, if a player makes an unexpected move which would turn an obvious draw into a losing position, but ends up winning because the opponent flags, I would think
!?might be the ideal notation. From a purely positional perspective, such a move would be a blunder, but a?would seem unfair for a move which, over the board, nets a half-point plus.– supercatCommented Sep 2 at 15:56
The !? annotation is indeed pretty rare in chess notation, and there's a good reason for that. It's used to indicate a move that's interesting or speculative—one that could be brilliant but also potentially risky. The thing is, chess players, especially at the higher levels, usually prefer solid, well-established moves. They tend to avoid taking unnecessary risks unless they have a very good reason to do so.
When a player makes a move that deserves a !?, it's often because they are trying something unusual or unexpected, which might catch their opponent off guard. But, because it’s not clear whether the move is truly good or bad, the annotation is not used often. Most of the time, moves fall into more straightforward categories—either good (!), bad (?), or somewhere in between (!?, ?!).
So, in short, the !? is rare because chess, at its core, is a game of precision, and speculative moves are less common than the tried-and-true ones.
