How to Analyze Your Games

How to Analyze Your Games as efficiently and as meaningfully as possible
I'm an improving player, and I've seen a lot of advice that it is important to analyze your own games, but I haven't seen a lot of specifics on what exactly to do. When I first started doing this, I found myself spending hours analyzing each game, but felt like I wasn't getting a lot out of it. So, I stepped back and thought carefully about the process. I consulted a number of different sources, and tested out several ideas. As a result, I came up with a method that I think works pretty well, and maximizes the benefits of analyzing one's game without spending too much time. 

Step 1: Before the Game

Yes, the first step to analyze your game well actually occurs before you play: it is to go into each game with the attitude that you're going to learn from it. If you go into a game with the objective of learning, you're more likely to take risks, and these are the times we often learn the most, by pushing boundaries and seeing what works and what doesn't. An example of this is sacrificing an exchange for a pawn and initiative. If we're worried about rating, we're much less likely to go for it. Don't worry about the rating if you experiment and lose - you'll be stronger this way and the rating will catch up eventually.

Step 2: During the Game

The second step occurs during the game (or right after). One of the reasons I promote daily chess as an avenue to improve is that you can record your analysis as you play (you can do this within the game if you are a chess.com member. Other options include another application or even in a physical notebook.) If this is a live game, record as much as you can remember about your thinking process as soon after the game as possible.

Either way, focus in particular on any difficult decisions or interesting positions: these are going to be your "key moments".

Step 3: Analyze the Opening

Analyze how the opening went. If you didn't remember your opening preparation, brush up on this part of your repertoire. If the opponent surprised you, this might something you need to add to your "book". One additional benefit of the next step is that you're a lot more likely to remember this line in the future 

Step 4: Analyze How You Emerge From the Opening

Analyze with a computer very closely the next few moves out of the opening, looking for different ways the game could have proceeded. Then, ask yourself the following questions: 

• Do you feel like you chose the right plan?
• If you've read Reassess Your Chess, did you assess the imbalances correctly? (If you haven't read Reassess Your Chess, do that now!)
• Can you identify the ideas behind other good moves the computer suggests? You can store these ideas as possible plans next time you get a similar position.

Step 5: Analyze Key Moments

Analyze any key moments. Did you judge correctly? Use the computer to help you figure out why or why not. Keep in mind that it may not be possible to answer these questions fully, and that's ok. We have to be efficient, and at some point there are diminishing returns when you stare at a certain position too long, and it would be a better use of time working on other parts of the game.

Step 6: Analyze Mistakes

Analyze any other moves that the computer marks as bad (if you do a Game Report analysis after the game, it will be easier to find these). If it is a tactic, ask yourself why you missed it, and how can you spot this sort of thing in the future (but also realize, that some tactics are so complex it is hard even for grandmasters to find during a game, so if it is difficult to figure out, move on after a few minutes). 

If it's not a tactic, you may look at it briefly, but don't spend too much time. The reason to spend a lot of time analyzing the moves coming out of the opening is that you're more likely to get the same or a similar position again. But deeper into the game, you're less likely to get a similar position. For the late middle game or endgame, the improvement in your technique will come from reading chess books, watching commentary online on GM games, and so on. If you have a coach review your game with you, you can learn technique this way. But if you don't have a coach, the advantage of a chess book or commentary is that you will be able to learn a lot of good insights on typical positions that you may very well encounter in the future just as likely as you would see a late middle game or endgame position similar to one of your own games.

If it is a mistake but the game is still winning or losing, don't worry about it. It's actually better from a practical sense to make a move that shifts the evaluation from +10 to +5 if it makes it easier for you to win.

Step 7: Create a Summary of your Game

Write a summary of how the game went and what you learned. Imagine your friend asked you, with genuine interest, "How did your game go?"

Step 8: Show the Game to your Coach / Training Partner

If you don't have someone to share your game with, that's ok, but if you do, it can be valuable to get their insights. You might not be able to afford a coach, but if you can find a training partner about the same strength, you can agree to help analyze each others' games. Even if your partner isn't a stronger player, you might be surprised at the insights you can gain from someone else's perspective.

Step 9: Review the Game Again Later

Review the summaries regularly so that you can remember all the lessons you learned. But also, review the moves of the entire game from time to time. You may have different insights on the position, especially if you have improved and/or read some chess books in the interim. This will also help you remember the opening and the ideas you came up with for the middle game. 

Conclusion

Thanks for reading, and I hope this helps! I would appreciate any feedback you have: leave it in a comment below. I might update this article in the future, so check back sometime. I might write more blog posts too!