123Chess_Game12
The CHESS Analysis Method (7-Steps)
CLOCK & CODE (Step 1)
HEAD & HAT (Steps 2 & 3)
ED & ANA (Steps 4 & 5)
SELECT & STUDY (Step 6)
SECURE KEY TAKEAWAYS (Step 7)
CLOCK &CODE:
- CLOCK & CODE: During Gameplay - Create a CODE legend for you to write down and identify the critical moments of the game, including the moves that took the most time on your CLOCK.
Tip 1: You can use numbers, letters, symbols, or anything else you can think of.
Tip 2: This process works best if you play a live (non-correspondence) game with at least 10min on your clock.
Examples:
- When felt Disoriented
- Confused
- Comfortable
- Uncomfortable
- Stuck
- When you overlooked something
- When you had a positive "eureka" moment
(The code legend I created for myself is “SCOUTE.”)
S = I feel Stuck
C = I feel Comfortable
O = I Overlooked a position or tactic
U = I feel Uncomfortable
T = This was a Time consuming move
E = Eureka! I discovered something good!
HEAD & HAT: - HEAD: Immediately after the Game - Write down what went through your HEAD throughout the game such as what you were feeling, the reasons for your decisions, the plans you had, and calculations you performed.
Tip 1: Expound on your In-game CODE
Tip 2: Be specific
(This PGN below include both of these steps 1 and 2 within the annotative comments.)
- HAT: Immediately after the Game - After finishing the above, write down at least 3 key lessons you've learned from this game that you can add to your HAT of knowledge.
Warning: No outside sources! Just your own thoughts and conclusions so far!
(Here are mine.)
1. When playing the Pirc Defense as black, I struggle with knowing how to respond when white is threatening to trade off my strong dark-square Bishop.
2. I don't spend near enough time looking for and carefully calculating early lines in the opening to clarify the center and lead to a simpler and more advantageous Midgame for me. Too many of my games are spent playing catchup in developing counterplay in the Midgame because I ended the opening phase with a slight disadvantage. I rely too much on my Midgame strategy ability, which functions too much as a crutch for me following lazy opening play with little assessing of positions and calculating lines.
3. I need to spend more time analyzing positions in which I feel stuck (pinpointing the threats, the weaknesses, and the strength of each piece) instead of just settling for the simplest and most obvious passive/defensive move that leaves me with no counterplay opportunities to enable me to play for a win. I think this is also because I'm too used to being in 3|0 Blitz chess mode. I'll never improve my game unless I spend more time calculating lines and thoroughly assessing the board.
ED & ANA: - ED: Immediately after the Game - EDUCATE on the critical moments of the game. These include any major changes that took place.
Internal critical moment examples:
- Ran out of known moves
- Moves that surprised you
- Change in plans
- Overlooked a situation
- When you found yourself "lost" or stuck
External critical moment examples:
- Phase Transition
- Draw-ish Endgame --> Lost one
- Massive trade of pieces
- Major pawn configuration change
- Quiet game into Tactical storm
(Here's what I chose.)
4. Bg5 - My first moment of uncertainty, when I wasn't sure how to respond to white's threat of taking my Knight or preparing to exchange off our DSB's.
6. Be3 - The first moment in which I began to develop an overarching strategy, deciding to expand on the Queenside
10. Qd2 - The moment when my opponent's development is complete and he's officially entering the Midgame.
12...e5 - The move that initiated a series of exchanges, turning the game from a closed game into an open game with an open d-file.
18. exd5 - The first moment in which I felt uncomfortable and couldn't find a solid move that wouldn't create long-term weaknesses in my defense.
21. Bxc4 - The most time-consuming move of the game for me, and the first moment when I felt completely stuck like a deer in headlights. All I could think about was the looming threat of my opponent blasting open the d-file and breaking shattering my defenses. All of my thoughts were consuming in defending against that threat.
32. Ke2 - The second most time-consuming move of the game where I felt completely stuck, in which I couldn't find anything except the super ugly and passive-looking Re5 move.
35. Kf2 - The moment when I believe I finally mentally gave up on trying to find a way to create some counterplay and or to improve my position, opting to foolishly retreat my Rook back to its passive e5 square (and leading to my next decision to finally "give up" and give white the d-file, launching us into the Endgame).
40. Bxa6 - The moment when, after loosing a hanging pawn, I knew it was over for me and that white would go on to win this game. - ANA: After the Game - Pick at least 2 or 3 of the critical moments you identified above, and now ANALYZE them. Warning: Before you analyze, run your moments by an equal or higher level player!
(Here are my 3 critical moments that I chose to analyze.)
10. Qd2 Responding to my opponent's first threat
14. exd5 My last chance to safely open up the d-file before it's too late
32. Ke2 Who is actually better here? Who has the more active pieces and the better position?
(This PGN below includes my finalized analyses for these critical moments within the annotative comments.)
SELECT & STUDY: - SELECT & STUDY: After the Game - SELECT an opening theory, positional pattern, or tactical element to STUDY it by learning from an expert sources.
Examples of types of sources:
- Reading instructional Books
- Watching instructional Videos
- Reading relevant Articles
- Looking up relevant Master Games
- Submitting your game online for a Game Review
Warning: Finish this step and THEN check your findings against a chess engine!
(Below is what I did for this step.)
1. I looked at some instructional youtube videos on the Pirc Defense.
2. I spent some time exploring all the main variations of the Pirc Defense and writing them down so that I could remember some of the basic concepts and ideas.
3. I memorized a Pirc Defense GM game in which black won in this same Byrne Variation. Here is that game below.
SECURE KEY TAKEAWAYS: - SECURE KEY TAKEAWAYS: Conclusion - SECURE and write down any final KEY TAKEAWAYS that are principles you can take into your future chess games, based on what you have learned from your analysis of this one. Write down at least 2 or 3.
(Below is what I did for this step.)
1. When your opponent creates a threat, always look for every counterthreat option you have on the board. Creating an equal or greater counterthreat is many times the best reply to your opponent's threat, rather than just defending against it.
2. When you feel stuck or unable to find a productive move, don't just instantly give up and opt for the obvious passive/defensive move that tells your opponent you're giving up on playing for a win. Instead, use it as an opportunity to reassess the position again, revisiting both the weaknesses in your opponent's position and the strength of each piece on the board to see if you can use those insights to find a better move.
3. Counterplay is the name of the game in the Pirc Defense. So if you're going to play the Pirc Defense, you have to think in terms of active counterplay if you want to play for a win.
4. Look for opporunities of possible forcing lines to clarify the center and/or simplify the position in the opening (usually by trading off minor pieces, harassing your opponent’s Queen, or attacking pawns), so that you can steer the game into a Midgame position in which you have an advantage and/or an attacking initiative. Don't wait until the Midgame to develop a strategy of attack or means of creating an advantage.
Finally, this video below is based on our completion of this analysis:
