123Chess_Game5

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: 

1. 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:
   
2. 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.)
   
3. 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. HANGING PIECES: During my times of calculation, I need to stop forgetting hanging pieces.  I need to keep the opponent's greatest threat at the forefront of my mind during my decision-making process.
   2. PERMANENT HOME FOR PIECES: During the development phase, I need to remember that my goal is to find not only the best immediate squares for my pieces, but also the best long-term squares and purposes for them.
   3. DON'T JUST CREATE THREATS!  PREVENT YOUR OPPONENT'S THREATS!  I need to not just move forward with my strategy, but also to make moves that prevent possible threats that my opponent has.
   
   ED & ANA:
   

4. 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.)
   7. Nf3: The first moment when I wasn't sure how to continue my development.  I spent more time on this move than any other in the game.  And my move 7...Bb4 turned out not to be so great.
   12. Qb3: The moment when I shifted to a midgame mindset and developed my first strategic plan
   14...Qd7: The Midgame officially begins
   18. Qb3: The moment when I felt completely stuck.  I wasn't sure how to improve my position, and I saw many threats that Tom had create already.  He had the bishop pair, I had an oddly placed Bishop, and he had a looming threat of a4 coming at me at any time.
   19...Bb6: My first known mistake (aside from my move 7 above), in which I hung my e5 pawn.
   21...Ng4: My moment of emotional check, reminding myself that if I wanted a fighting chance at this game I had to move past my regret of hanging my pawn and develop an offensive plan of counterplay.  Ng4 was the best one I could find, forking e5 and f2 with my Knight.
   22. Ra2 The moment when the tides turned.  Here, I recognized my opponent's first major blunder, and punished it right away, securing my advantage.
   27. exd5: The move that exchanged off our Queens, further simplifying the position, going into the Endgame.
   31. Kg2: The mistake that led to winning Endgame for me
   32...Rxb4: The moment I missed my chance to destroy his pawn structure with the alternative Nf4+
   36. Re4: The final decision that secured me with the simplest winning Endgame possible when I chose to decline the Rook exchange with 36...Rb5
   
   This video below is a review based on our completion of steps 1-4.
   
   
5. 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.)
   7. Nf3
   14. Qa2
   27. exd5
   
   This PGN below includes my finalized analyses for these 3 critical moments within the annotative comments.
   
   SELECT & STUDY:
   
6. SELECT & STUDY: After the Game -SELECTan 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 watched a few instructional Youtube videos (and read a couple articles) about the English Opening
   2. I reviewed some Grandmaster games of the Opening variation we played.
   3. I double-checked my game against a chess engine to make sure I caught all my blunders and mistakes.
   4. Tom and I both memorized the same GM game involving the English Opening. Below is this game.
   
   
   SECURE KEY TAKEAWAYS:
   
7. 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. EXPLOITING WEAKNESSES CREATES THREATS. AND WHOEVER HAS THE GREATEST THREAT ON THE BOARD CONTROLS THE GAME: One of the biggest things I learned in this game was the power of exploiting a weakness when you have the chance to safely do so. In all three of the positions I analyzed, they involved exploiting a weakness right away, which flipped the game from a fairly back-and-forth one to one in which I would have had the initiative and forced my opponent to play my game. This only worked because I created the biggest threat on the board.
   2. YOUR PIECES MAY HAVE MORE MOVE OPTIONS THAN YOU FIRST NOTICE: In the second position I analyzed, I realized that my entire strategy revolved around the fact that I missed another key square option that my Bishop could move to, which would have taken away Tom's initiative and exploited his e2 weakness, forcing him to defend and preventing him from exchanging off his Knight for my Bishop (the whole purpose of 13. Ng5). Seeing that simple escape square for my Bishop would have placed me on the attack instead of the defense like in our game.
   
   Finally, this video below is based on our completion of steps 5-7.