123Chess_Game7

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. I know very little about how to develop a gameplan of attack in the Open Sicilian: So many games I've played start with the exact position we reached once white played 4. Nxd4.  But I believe I need to decide just one line to first study more in depth so that I can get good at it from both perspectives before I try a different one.  Not sure if the 4...e4 move is what I should learn first, but it's certainly an interesting line.
   2. I need to keep a close watch on my opponent's Knights: In this game there were multiple times when I overlooked a strong Knight move the my opponent had.  I need to keep a close watch for what my opponent's Knights can do.
   3. I need to work on my chess visualization skills: Since we were played correspondence chess for this game, I need to use it as an opportunity to practice my chess visualization skills.  I have more time to work with so my calculation should be deeper and more accurate.
   
   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.)
   4. Nxd4 - The moment when I had to decide what type of Open Sicilian line I wanted to play.
   8. Bd3 - My first uncomfortable moment in the game.  I saw that his Knight could hop into d5, and I wasn't sure how to deal with that.
   12. Be3 - The moment when I first developed a strategy, which was to expand on the Kingside.
   16. Qd2 - The first moment when I overlooked something.  My next series of moves became quite challenging after this moment, because Tom had the initiative.
   19. Bd3 - The first moment when I was clearly on the defense and the Midgame had officially begun.
   21. Rae1 - The first critical moment of the game which could've given white the upper hand if I make a mistake or miscalculated.
   22. Rxe1 - The moment I shifted my mindset from defense to counterplay.
   25. Re4 - The moment when I gained the initiative in a forcing line of counterplay.
   26. Kf2 - The moment when I went all in for an attack.
   27. Re1 - The moment when I thought I saw my opponent blunder and found what I believed to be the best way to immediately punish it. 
   
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.)
   6. Nc3
   9. Nd5
   19. Bd3
   This PGN below includes my finalized analyses for these 3 critical moments within the annotative comments.
   
   
   SELECT & STUDY:
6. 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 analyzed the opening to understand thematic elements of the Sicilian a little more.
   2. Tom and I both memorized the same master-level game that was similar to our opening. Here's the PGN of that game:
   
   3. I watched a couple youtube videos on the Sicilian.
   4. I began to try playing the Sicilian more in my Blitz games as black as well to get more comfortable with it.
   
   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. I need to diminish my defensive/passive moves in the opening. I notice that tends to be a bad habit of mine in the opening phase.
   2. When I spend a bunch of time and create a strategy or game plan, I need to not let momentary fears derail my plan (such as what I mentioned in my plan around move 9 in this game to NOT unlock his Bishop). Just because he hesitated to take by Bishop with his Knight doesn't mean I should go against my solid plan. Doing this ended up jamming up my position since I had to retreat my Knight all the way back.
   3. Don't get stuck on tunnel vision. In move 19, the reason I didn't see the seemingly obvious Knight move with a double attack on his Queen and Knight is because I was stuck on tunnel vision to take his Bishop with my Knight.
   
   Finally, this video below is based on our completion of this analysis: