Improvement · 6 min read
How to analyse your own games (without an engine first)
Handing a game to an engine and reading the evaluation graph teaches almost nothing. Analysis works when you first write down what you thought, then compare it with what was true.
That gap — between your reasoning and reality — is the only thing worth studying.
The four-pass routine
- Pass 1, from memory: write your plan at moves 10, 20 and 30, and mark every move you were unsure about.
- Pass 2, find the turning point: identify where the game's character changed. Usually one or two moves decided it.
- Pass 3, classify: was it a missed tactic, a bad trade, a structural concession, a time-management error or an opening gap?
- Pass 4, engine check: confirm your conclusions and look only at the moments you flagged.
Use your scoresheets
Over-the-board games are the most valuable ones to review because you had time to think. Photograph the scoresheet, convert it to PGN, and step through it with the insight panel on so you can see the threats, captures and missed opportunities at each move.
Keeping every tournament game in one place also makes patterns visible across months: the same opening gap or the same kind of blunder shows up again and again.
What to write down
One sentence per game: the single mistake that mattered most, phrased as a rule you can apply next time. 'I traded my active bishop for a passive knight to avoid a threat that was not real' is useful. 'Blundered on move 24' is not.
Review the list of sentences before each tournament round.
Key takeaways
- Annotate from memory before you turn the engine on.
- Find the turning point instead of listing every inaccuracy.
- Write one actionable sentence per game and reread them regularly.
Frequently asked questions
- How long should analysing one game take?
- Twenty to thirty minutes for a serious over-the-board game. Blitz games rarely deserve more than a quick scan for repeated patterns.
- Should I analyse wins too?
- Yes. Wins hide mistakes that a weaker opponent failed to punish, and those are the ones that lose you future games.