How I analyse my Games
I usually analyze my OTB games in three steps but for my online games, I exclude the first step (although I’m thinking of doing the same from now on).
So the steps or phases are:
Annotating the game right after;
Deep analysis without engine;
Analyzing with a coach or with an engine*.
1. Annotating the game right after
This is where I put in all my thoughts and variations I calculated during the game. On OTB games I used to do it right after, but that would mean me going to bed later than usual so now I do it first thing the next morning. In the morning I won’t remember as much as I would right after the game but the trade, of gaining more sleep is worth it.
This takes 45 minutes to 1 hour, and I do it straight on the computer. After annotating on the computer I have a list of questions that I answer after every OTB game. I have been meaning to do a post on that list, I’ll probably do it on the next post.
2. Deep analysis without engine
I used to do this on the computer, but I noticed that I would just move pieces on the 2D board, like even if I calculated without moving the pieces when I would put the variation in, obviously, I would see the position and realize that I calculated wrong or miss evaluated the position, and of course, there is nothing wrong with that but after that the next variation I would not check for error as much because I would eventually put the variation in and correct my mistakes.
So now I do the second phase manually with a board, notebook, and pen. And also I won’t move the pieces except for the game moves.
And finally, I pass my analysis from the notebook to the computer. This takes 3 to 4 hours on average (not counting passing the analysis from notebook to computer).
3. Analyzing with a coach or the engine
Well this is the more straightforward part, when I analyze this with a coach, usually via Zoom, I record the class, and then later I input the analysis into the computer.
When I analyze with the engine, I’m not looking for variations, I’m looking for big dips in the evaluation bar, which usually means a mistake or a blunder and then I note what I missed. And I’m doing this for the game and all the variations I calculated.
Some extra tips
When I’m annotating I differentiate the different phases by the prefixes:
“game -” for the thoughts and variations I calculated during the game;
“analysis -” for the annotations and variations I calculated in the deep analysis;
“analysis/engine -” for the analysis I did with the help of the engine.
This way when I come back to the game I will know what I was thinking at each stage of the analysis.
I hope this was useful for you, leave a comment to let me know what you think and how you analyze your games.