123Chess_Game8

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 the Caro-Kann Defense: My game plan from the very start to exchange off the center pawns right away underscores that I don't understand what solid options I had in this opening system.
   2. I tend to get my pieces jammed up and stuck when playing as white against the Caro-Kann Defense.  Especially my dark square Bishop.
   3. I don't know what to do with my Knights in this opening: Usually I establish some sort of attack plan as the opening evolves into the midgame.  But I couldn't really figure out how to coordinate my pieces well in this game.
   
   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.)
   2...d5 The moment I had to decide what kind of variation of the Caro-Kann I wanted to play
   9...O-O The moment when I began to really feel cramped in my position
   13...b4 The first moment I felt stuck, unsure if I should play Nxe6 now
   16...fxe6 The moment when I allowed fear to trump my simple calculations
   20. bxc3 Moving into the Endgame with Tom having the initiative & better pawn structure
   21. Qxd5+ The turning point of the game, in which I stole the initiative
   24...Qd7 The moment when I had to decide whether to exchange Queens
   27. Bd6 The first moment when I had a clear winning position
   
   
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.)
   13...b4
   14...Nf5
   16...fxe6
   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 watched some instructional videos on the Caro-Kann Defense
   2. Tom and I memorized the GM game below
   3. I looked at other potential ways I could change up my first few moves in response to the Caro-Kann. The Classical and Advance variations are my favorites based on what I saw.
   
   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. Sometimes subtle is best. If you don't have a clear idea, simply improve the position of one piece
   2. Don't allow fear of a potential threat to prevent simple calculation.
   
   Finally, this video below is based on our completion of this analysis: