I just had an idea for a new feature on the site: a kind of post-mortem analysis. When a game is complete (and only then), either player can add analysis to the game - which both players will be able to see. To keep it clear who put what analysis in, their text could be set apart using the players username. This analysis would also go into the PGN file that you can download. The simplest way I can see to add this would be to add another window on the "Moves" Tab where you can type in your analysis - there's already room for it there - and maybe including a button to input alternate lines. I realize analyzing the game by yourself is easy by downloading the PGN file and using one of the many tools available both here and elsewhere, but my idea would allow for interaction between both players to create a co-authored analysis. Many times, I'd like to know how my opponent came to decide on the moves they made. For example, did they see something I didn't? Also, if one player puts analysis on a game, the other player could get an alert or message informing them, so they can go see and contribute as well. Then, if we want to share this game on the forums, we can include both players analysis and just use the PGN file we downloaded on the game page.
I do this personally by aranging to trade emails with our annotations of the game... it works out nicely.
If you were both able to post our annotation after the game and have it 'locked' in to the PGN it would be impossible or inconvenient to edit your opponents (potentially incorrect) analysis when storing games for personal reference.
Hope that made sense.
True, but that is why I emphasized the "interactive" part of it. I also never mentioned "locking" in the analysis. I don't see any reason why you shouldn't be allowed to delete your own analysis with this proposed tool. Or if you're really concerned about potentially incorrect analysis, just add in your own rebuttal. Sometimes, the justification given for moves in an incorrect analysis can be just as helpful as a correct analysis because it shows the thought processes for both players. How many times have you seen "I don't know why my opponent did this" in analysis on these forums? I know I've seen it, or something like it, plenty of times. This could be an easy way to find out what your opponent was thinking. While this could also be done, as you say, with a series of e-mails between you, this way you could see the analysis while you're looking at the board on the same screen and in the same window, rather than switching back and forth between your e-mail and the game.
I would LOVE to be able to add my own annotations to moves DURING a game - and have it added to the pgn file.
It would make the post game analysis so much more interesting.
Often with lots of games going on it's hard to remember where the critical point of the game was - or what was going through my head at a certain juncture.
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