"... The Improving Annotator is suitable for most class players looking for helpful commentary, and perhaps may encourage readers to spend time carefully annotating their own games, a suggestion widely recommended as one of the most effective methods of improving one's own play."
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708234314/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review786.pdf
"... It is especially critical not to continually fall into opening traps – or even lines that result in difficult positions – by reviewing opening moves in an opening encyclopedia or database. One should be able to answer the question: 'If my opponent played the same way next time, where would I deviate?' In the middlegame and endgame, review the game with a strong player or, at worst, a computer (which can at least indicate tactical mistakes). The goal is to confidently feel that you would know what to do if the same pattern arose. ..."
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627062646/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/heisman81.pdf
Actually, there's an argument FOR writing down the same thought process that you had during the game for your post-mortem analysis! Only by doing that will you or your coach or a good chess friend will be able to help you in identifying your mistakes in your game and/or thought process.
At the end chess is all about the ability to calculate, some have better calculation ability which seems innate.
You might want to consider creating your own personalized chess curriculum designed specifically to provide you with the basic, prerequisite tools that can bring you to a level of knowledge where you can do a reasonably competent job of basic analysis (given the limitations inherent to the current state of your chess development). To this end I recommend considering studying the first few books in the following article, which are appropriate and accessible to players at the beginner level and above. I believe these books will start you on the correct path toward achieving your goals...
Good Positional Chess, Planning & Strategy Books for Beginners and Beyond...
https://www.chess.com/blog/RussBell/introduction-to-positional-chess-planning-strategy
https://www.chess.com/blog/RussBell
"... you should first review the game, ... at least once before showing it to stronger players or submitting it for computer analysis. There are several reasons for this quick private review. ... you should form your own opinions about what you did wrong and what you should have done differently. Initially you won’t be too successful, but that is OK; you need to hone your skills at self-evaluation and you will improve each time you do so. … [Another] reason to review your game yourself is to solidify your memory of what happened, so that when/if the stronger player asks you about it, you will feel more comfortable. … you are now ready to make use of any aid available. … review the opening(s) to ascertain, 'If a future opponent makes the same moves, where would I differ to improve?' … If you own a program like Fritz, which has an overnight analysis mode ... you can use this great feature, which is especially helpful for identifying tactical errors. … identify all the moves where the evaluation changed drastically. …" - NM Dan Heisman (2005)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627023809/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/heisman50.pdf
An example of some post-game discussion can be seen at:
https://www.chess.com/forum/view/for-beginners/how-do-you-study-chess
I’m wondering if someone can suggest a good guide or step by step process to analysing my games without just running through the game report or relying on the computer.
I use a voice recorder on my phone during my games, so that I can think out loud and then go back through the game and annotate it with my thoughts at each move. This has proven very useful when I work on my games with my coach.
I would however like to improve my analysis skills and try to do more of the work myself rather than just relying on my coach to point out my errors.
The trouble I’m having, is that if I use the same thought process to analyse my games as I do when playing them, I’m going to make the same blunders.
Is there a good method suitable for lower rated <1000 players to begin developing my post game analysis skills?
A YouTube lesson? Book?
Thanks,
Andrew