How to analyse a move

Today I will show you how to analyse a move in a chess game or puzzle. Analysing a move means looking into it, not just straight up saying ‘It’s a good move’ or ‘It’s a bad move’. When you analyse a move you cannot just look at the position on the board and say if it is good or bad, you actually have to move back and see if any other move affects the move that has just been played. If the move does affect the move that has just been played, then you must see if that move is affected by any other move. I know, it’s confusing. If the move is not affected by any other move, you can say it is a good move or a bad move. 
Here is an example:

Now ask yourself some questions.

What would happen if the pawn on a6 wasn’t there?

When did black make a blunder?

Did white make a mistake?

Why did black play a6?

Could white have played something else, other than Bf4?

All of these questions can be answered in the few moves of the opening. If white had not missed black’s blunder, white could have won a piece. Can you find out how?

Find another move black could have made so that they didn’t lose a piece.

As you can see, black will not lose their piece if they play Bxc3.

Why did black play a6?

Here, black did not play a6, and instead played 0-0, and then, a move late, white found the trap.

You can analyse any move in a chess game, whether it be good or bad. Ever wonder how computers find the best move? They analyse the position to get it. When analysing, try to look at other pieces in the position to see what they are doing, not focusing on one. If you focus on one piece, you may miss even better moves in the position.

Joey9999