Chess Analysis after Game • page 1/2 • General Chess Discussion • lichess.org

Hallo, having trouble finding any tutorial on how to understand the chess analysis, mostly after a game, looking at my blunders and mistakes, I am confused by all the arrows and side panel. Is there anything on you tube that demonstrates how to interpret just the very basic board analysis. Thank you.

itsLani

#2

GothamChess - How To Analyze Your Chess Games is a good start:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylpAHvPlafc

GothamChess - How To Analyze Your Chess Games is a good start: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylpAHvPlafc

NM MrPushwood

#3

Your best bet may be to post a position or two here that you're having trouble with.

bufferunderrun

#4

Preferably in https://lichess.org/forum/game-analysis and not here.

Minoesje edited

#5

Hi Guys, Sorry, this video has nothing to do with my problem, no what I mean is this: I simply can not understood how to interpret the arrows when they appear on the chess board (the different colours) OR the graph or the difference between an inncauracy and a mistake (a blunder is obvious) I mean an innacuracy is a mistake in my thinking. The graph has a black and a grey colour, what is the differnce between the lines on that graph going towards black or the curve going towrds the grey? Is there no explanation for any of this anywhere?
Thank you

Hi Guys, Sorry, this video has nothing to do with my problem, no what I mean is this: I simply can not understood how to interpret the arrows when they appear on the chess board (the different colours) OR the graph or the difference between an inncauracy and a mistake (a blunder is obvious) I mean an innacuracy is a mistake in my thinking. The graph has a black and a grey colour, what is the differnce between the lines on that graph going towards black or the curve going towrds the grey? Is there no explanation for any of this anywhere? Thank you

swimmerBill

#6

@Minoesje said in #5:

Hi Guys, Sorry, this video has nothing to do with my problem, no what I mean is this: I simply can not understood how to interpret the arrows when they appear on the chess board (the different colours) OR the graph or the difference between an inncauracy and a mistake (a blunder is obvious) I mean an innacuracy is a mistake in my thinking. The graph has a black and a grey colour, what is the differnce between the lines on that graph going towards black or the curve going towrds the grey? Is there no explanation for any of this anywhere?
Thank you

All that stuff is not important. The good stuff is when you analyze your game with a stronger player and she/he says something initially cryptic like
"well,.... when I play the Sicilian I dont like to castle until after I start my queenside counterplay,''
or
''it takes 3 pieces to attack''
or
''knight endings are like pawn endings''
or
''when I get a free move I look to see if I can move a piece closer to my opponents king''
and so on
and later a light goes off on your head and you change the way you think of the position.

Computer analysis is good for finding critical points where you messed up and suggestions to think about, but not for understanding the position so you'll play similar ones better.
--just my opinion -- Bill

@Minoesje said in #5: > Hi Guys, Sorry, this video has nothing to do with my problem, no what I mean is this: I simply can not understood how to interpret the arrows when they appear on the chess board (the different colours) OR the graph or the difference between an inncauracy and a mistake (a blunder is obvious) I mean an innacuracy is a mistake in my thinking. The graph has a black and a grey colour, what is the differnce between the lines on that graph going towards black or the curve going towrds the grey? Is there no explanation for any of this anywhere? > Thank you All that stuff is not important. The good stuff is when you analyze your game with a stronger player and she/he says something initially cryptic like "well,.... when I play the Sicilian I dont like to castle until after I start my queenside counterplay,'' or ''it takes 3 pieces to attack'' or ''knight endings are like pawn endings'' or ''when I get a free move I look to see if I can move a piece closer to my opponents king'' and so on and later a light goes off on your head and you change the way you think of the position. Computer analysis is good for finding critical points where you messed up and suggestions to think about, but not for understanding the position so you'll play similar ones better. --just my opinion -- Bill

CANiBUYyourQUEEN

#7

Are you trying to give Ben Finegold a heart attack?

https://lichess.org/VwEVRkY1/black#6

Are you trying to give Ben Finegold a heart attack? https://lichess.org/VwEVRkY1/black#6

#8

CaseyReese

#9

@Minoesje said in #1:

I am confused by ... the ... side panel

This shows you the moves made during the game. Moves which are indented (or in parenthesis, depending on your settings) are variations from the game which the computer recommends.

I simply can not understood how to interpret the arrows when they appear on the chess board

The arrows show you what the computer thinks the best moves are. They point out what move you could have played and what move your opponent could play next.

or the difference between an inaccuracy and a mistake

An inaccuracy is a move that is a little weaker than other available moves. Don't worry about them unless you're a very good player.

A mistake is a move that may lead to a slight loss of material or a weakening of your position you'll need to recover from. These matter.

A blunder is a move that will lead to the loss a piece's worth of material or a weakening of your position that could put you in jeopardy. These could cost you the game.

or the graph

The graph shows you who had the advantage at what point during the game. If the colored line stays around the center line, then neither player had much advantage over the other. When the colored line moves away from the center line, then one player has an advantage over the other.

https://i.imgur.com/mRLbXjR.jpeg

Here's a recent game of mine. My opponent blundered early in the game. (This is where the line in the graph moves up.) If I had played well, I could have easily won. However, I also blundered later in the game. (This is the position shown. Notice that the line in the graph moves toward the center line again. Notice also that the computer is showing me the move I should have made and the move my opponent will likely make in response to my blunder. The variation where I don't blunder is also shown next to the board.) My opponent could have taken advantage of that and recovered, making that game close again. However, he blundered again (notice the line in the graph moves back up and away from the center line), allowing me to eventually win.

@Minoesje said in #1: > I am confused by ... the ... side panel This shows you the moves made during the game. Moves which are indented (or in parenthesis, depending on your settings) are variations from the game which the computer recommends. > I simply can not understood how to interpret the arrows when they appear on the chess board The arrows show you what the computer thinks the best moves are. They point out what move you could have played and what move your opponent could play next. > or the difference between an inaccuracy and a mistake An inaccuracy is a move that is a little weaker than other available moves. Don't worry about them unless you're a very good player. A mistake is a move that may lead to a slight loss of material or a weakening of your position you'll need to recover from. These matter. A blunder is a move that will lead to the loss a piece's worth of material or a weakening of your position that could put you in jeopardy. These could cost you the game. > or the graph The graph shows you who had the advantage at what point during the game. If the colored line stays around the center line, then neither player had much advantage over the other. When the colored line moves away from the center line, then one player has an advantage over the other. https://i.imgur.com/mRLbXjR.jpeg Here's a recent game of mine. My opponent blundered early in the game. (This is where the line in the graph moves up.) If I had played well, I could have easily won. However, I also blundered later in the game. (This is the position shown. Notice that the line in the graph moves toward the center line again. Notice also that the computer is showing me the move I should have made and the move my opponent will likely make in response to my blunder. The variation where I don't blunder is also shown next to the board.) My opponent could have taken advantage of that and recovered, making that game close again. However, he blundered again (notice the line in the graph moves back up and away from the center line), allowing me to eventually win.

Minoesje

#10

@CaseyReese said in #9:

The graph shows you who had the advantage at what point during the game. If the colored line stays around the center line, then neither player had much advantage over the other. When the colored line moves away from the center line, then one player has an advantage over the other.

AND I HAVE MY GRAPH SCREEN GRABBED BUT SEE NO WAY TO UPLOAD IT HERE.

Hallo Casey. thank you for your detailed explanation. Your points and your graph are easily understood. But unfortunately my graph is what is confusing me: The blunders and mistakes of both myself and my opponent are all over the graph. When I hover over the orange line that follows the graph it lists just words such as 'advantage', BUT, who has the advantage? Also the line dips below into the dark area, but what is going on here since I assumed, wrongly at first, that below the line was my play and above theline was my opponents play, but this is not the case and is now confusing.

@CaseyReese said in #9: > > > The graph shows you who had the advantage at what point during the game. If the colored line stays around the center line, then neither player had much advantage over the other. When the colored line moves away from the center line, then one player has an advantage over the other. > AND I HAVE MY GRAPH SCREEN GRABBED BUT SEE NO WAY TO UPLOAD IT HERE. Hallo Casey. thank you for your detailed explanation. Your points and your graph are easily understood. But unfortunately my graph is what is confusing me: The blunders and mistakes of both myself and my opponent are all over the graph. When I hover over the orange line that follows the graph it lists just words such as 'advantage', BUT, who has the advantage? Also the line dips below into the dark area, but what is going on here since I assumed, wrongly at first, that below the line was my play and above theline was my opponents play, but this is not the case and is now confusing.