Importance of analysis in Chess for Beginners

Keywords: with an engine; without an engine; analyzing on chess.com; annotation

Introduction

What you want to do when analyzing a game is ensure maximum learning. This may involve receiving feedback from a more skilled player, but one of the most effective methods is to identify a crucial moment in the game. This is crucial because it allows you to delve deeper into understanding and knowledge, even about yourself.

📸Using chess.com's analysis feature to analyze your games (2017)

Analyzing with an engine

After playing a game, there is typically an "analysis" button on the game panel; click "self analysis" to conduct your own analysis. If you look at the top-right corner of the screen, you'll see a section labelled "Setting" with several options, presumably including the depth of the self-analysis from 14 to 99. This allows for a more in-depth examination, albeit at the expense of more time. The standard depth is 22, which is acceptable for nearly everyone. You can also change the top n number of moves (for example, the top 3) in settings, so you don't always need to worry about having more options. Typically, the optimal move is the objective when trying to analyse a game with a computer engine.

📸 Chess.com's analysis feature and analyzing with an engine

When a game begins, the number frequently fluctuates, with large swings from +2 or +3, until it reaches the maximum depth for a particular position. Typically, you will notice that the move choices vary, but you should associate your initial impressions of the game with engine analysis. You want to determine where the computer disagrees with your initial game strategies. By applying this concept each time you play the game, you can gain extremely valuable knowledge.

Analyzing without an engine

When you choose a specific moment in the game. Typically, the conditions and surroundings during a game are significantly different from those after the game. This also helps you determine if you are susceptible to pressure clouding your decisions and calculations during the game. I don't know about you, but I believe you are more likely to recognize your errors during the analysis phase than during the game itself.

📸 Bobby Fischer's handwritten notes

NOTE: You can practice this by taking notes during the game, testing and critically analyzing them, and then comparing them to the engine. Taking notes is one of the many ways to exercise imprinting memories of thoughts, novelties or remembering your mistakes in chess. Many famous chess players have been exercising this method including former world champion Bobby Fischer.

Annotating

When you apply the previous concept of taking notes during the game (assuming you have the time to do so), you can refer back to them after the game to calculate further or consider more options. You can also select a few moments (say 2 or 3) and note them down on the analysis feature itself while the engine is turned off.

📸Making notes on Chess.com

NOTE: In a completely lost position, it is advantageous to resign early so that the computer does not confuse you with "pointless" errors. Moreover, it is far more insightful to learn from fewer mistakes in a game rather than a large number of them, which will also help you remember them.

Analyzing on chess.com

📽️ Using chess.com for analysis

Summary

Chess.com offers a vast array of tools and kits to help you analyse, annotate, and save your games. This could enable you to return and view your games for revision, thereby shaping your library and memory of games in order to improve your pattern recognition and overall chess strength.