How To Analyze Your Chess Games

many of us like to play live games of chess but in  this video i'm going to teach you how to analyze   and learn from the games that you've already  played it doesn't matter whether the game was   a win loss or a draw or how the game made you feel  you must go back and make sure you don't make the   same mistakes two times and hopefully not three  times so focus on the thought process we're gonna   take the game phase by phase the opening stage  where did you leave your opening knowledge how   you navigated the middle game maybe the end game  and other things like how did you manage your time   also we will try to conceptualize into words  moves that computers suggest okay so with that   said three people are going to be featured in  this video the first of which is my girlfriend   lucy she volunteered to be in this video now when  you first turn on any sort of analysis it could be   chess.com whatever it might be it'll show you this  big fancy thing that thing is nice but it is more   important to analyze with computer and you'll see  i have that in the bottom right hand side let's go   with the very first game so lucy begins with e4  her opponent plays e5 all standard and she plays   the vienna so far so good knight to f6 now at this  point vienna's system with bishop c4 is absolutely   possible but i always recommend that against  knight to f6 you play the move f4 so this is kind   of a thing you go back and you go oh okay when the  knight goes here i've got to play f4 that takes me   into my v on a gambit nothing wrong with this  move and now d6 and the computer at this point   i will say this you need to not rely so heavily  on the computer in the opening phase because the   computer doesn't fully understand openings it  doesn't have an openings database program to the   highest extent so the computer might say okay d6  is excellent but it's actually not a great setup   because black has blocked out their bishop even  if the computer says that it's fine d3 bishop g4   attacking the queen computer wants some bishop  e6 doesn't matter it's the opening stage of the   game it's not such a big deal so white plays f3  i'm not crazy about the move f3 i don't think   it's necessary i think white can just go here and  then castle but of course going f3 and attacking   the bishop right away isn't a problem because in  the vienna we want to play the move knight to e2   regardless but okay now white has a like plus  point eight advantage which means close to about   a pawn up uh we get pawn to h6 white castles and  of course i mean black should go here in castle   but here black plays the move g5 and the  computer's saying okay g5 is good but you'll   notice that the evaluation has jumped to plus  1.5 right so computer's a little bit weird like   that i mean g5 is not a great move this is not a  great move but black is weakening their own king   side and not developing any pieces but spending  a lot of time actually look at the time usage   for black 13 minutes this is a 15 minute game  so now here white should look to break out in   the center because white is developed or white  should just continue with developing another piece   uh lucy plays the move knight d5 there's nothing  inherently wrong with trading knights here   like this but your bishop is going to get kicked  out and that's exactly what happened in the game   now of course here the two squares that the bishop  could go to it's better to go back to b3 why   because if you go back to c4 which is what happens  in the game it's still considered excellent but it   allows black to play the move d5 which attacks  your bishop once again right you wouldn't have   had to deal with that if the bishop just went  back here but because the bishop goes to c4   it allows black to play d5 and have two pawns  in the center now lucy plays bishop b5 check   and you'll notice the computer hasn't at any  moment said any of these moves were bad but   the evaluation is back to zero zero zero  it means the position is equalized if you   actually use the engine lines here what does it  say well it actually says that you know bishop uh   that this position bishop to b3 is a considerably  better move than bishop back to c4 right it's a   bishop b3 so you need a combination of the two  okay bishop b5 check black goes knight to d7   which is considered an inaccuracy it was better to  play a little bit more actively so knight d7 and   here knight to g3 attacking the bishop on h5 the  bishop slides out of danger now apparently somehow   now black has a slight advantage on this computer  but the bar is saying this which is why analyzing   games can be tricky you need to absorb things  that are practical right so for example this move   c4 and you'll you'll notice that all of a sudden  black has a big advantage why the move c4 doesn't   look like a mistake the move c4 is an incorrect  decision of pawn structure is what it is instead   of c4 look at what was recommended bishop to e3  just developing the bishop stopping black from   playing this check right which can hit the king  and the bishop on c4 just developing another piece   and actually you're not really worried  about something like pawn to d4 attacking   your bishop because the bishop just slides  out of danger but the general thing here is   just finish your development just finish the  development you haven't moved the bishop yet   just move it to the middle and c4 is not a great  move because black can kind of close the structure   leave this bishop out uh but it's it's not some  sort of horrible mistake even if the computer is   saying that it's a it's a question mark for a 1  000 level game that's not a bad move at all so we   get a6 attacking the bishop a trade another trade  and white plays bishop to e3 you say how is bishop   e3 the best move this is hanging well actually  taking there is a mistake look queen b5 was played   in the game but the computer is suggesting that  you finish developing two to hit this bishop trade   check and castle the computer is actually not  suggesting to take this pawn so in the game   we got queen b5 which attacks the b2 pawn and  this right oh sorry and this so this is a fork   now in the game lucy realized that this pawn  is hanging and she's not really worried about   losing the def uh the b2 pawn she rather open up  the position and d4 is considered an inaccuracy   and look at what it's saying it's saying rook  c1 is the best move the computer wants rook c1   hanging both pawns now how do you verbalize  that like why would the engine want this   there's i mean for a beginner there's no easy  way to verbalize that i mean why is rook c1 the   best move according to the computer it basically  the point is that you can sacrifice a pawn here   for activating your rook that's the point black  is spending time taking the pawn you can activate   your rook but for what you don't see the immediate  gain of rook to c1 so you can't really fault   a move like d4 for this level this is a great  move why because the position now begins to open   black takes on b2 which is a mistake look at what  the engine wants the engine instead wanted long   castle it wants long castle wants to castle the  king into all this open space i mean that's just   so impractical right queen takes b2 pawn takes  e5 and now queen takes e5 is a losing mistake   and you know what the craziest thing is it's  not a losing mistake because of this move this   move looks like it wins because what happens if  you play this is you pin the queen to the rook   and you're winning but here apparently look at the  bar black can play bishop c5 and you cannot take   the queen because your bishop is pinned to your  own king just absolute craziness right the best   move and lucy actually found it it got called a  brilliant move rook to e1 it got the the legendary   double exclamation mark on chess.com why because  you stay patient for one move you stay patient the   queen is lined up to the king so any bishop move  is going to be a hit on the king and by staying   patient black cannot stop both threats if you play  bishop c5 now then i just take the bishop and you   can't take back because you're pinned and you're  going to lose so by staying patient for one move   white got this brilliant move it's actually funny  i spoke to lucy about this and we were discussing   this move bishop d4 but she was like well i  saw rook 21 and then this and this was my whole   idea and i was like it's funny how that works  because the computer if you played this in a game   would have said bishop d4 was a mistake even if  the game would have ended with you winning a rook   the computer would have said bishop d4 is  a bad move because of this crazy defense   but you need to understand that for your level  of chess whatever it is that you are just cause   a 3 000 level cyborg says it wasn't good look  white is playing great so far this game right   both both players made the mistake  this game of not developing   fast enough black never developed and after rookie  one black's in serious trouble black plays rook c8   bishop d4 and is just losing a queen right like  straight up just losing a queen has to sacrifice   it's now a check and the rook is hanging so now  it all falls apart but there's one funny moment of   this game which is why computers are so terrible  rook c6 now how do you win this with white with   the extra queen you bring the rook fantastic move  trying to trade rook jumps into c8 bishop d8 is a   blunder right two question mark blunder but what  does that even mean i mean black is down a queen   like how can you like you know look at what  the computer says it's like oh it's plus 10.   oh but this move blunders mate but that's  why like analyzing end games with computers   is stupid because you have an extra queen i mean  like who cares if the game is over you know like   the best move the computer wanted was to move the  king and attack the rook now this is really funny   this last one cracks me up queen d1 threatening  mate which looks unstoppable and black resigns   is considered an inaccuracy the move which one  white the game and force the resignation is   inaccuracy why because the only way to stop mate  here is to play rook to e1 check hitting both   the king and the queen okay if the queen takes  the rook the king now escapes and you'll mate   in apparently seven or eight moves if you play  the best however if you had played queen to d2   then this check wouldn't hit the queen and your  best move according to the computer is to move   the king to keep the queen lined up to this bishop  to not take the free rook and to go here because   mathematically speaking you're going to take the  bishop this is why i'm showing this video because   some things you can take from computers and try to  understand but other things you simply cannot you   simply cannot right like okay i mean like white  played a great game white played a great game   what did white do wrong well uh in the opening  uh white didn't go for the vienna gambit so next   time we go for the vienna gambit what did black  do they played this kind of strange move and then   black just played too aggressively did white have  to trade knights no but this was a fantastic game   even if the computer gives it what 50 score to me  this was a 90 score game because white blundered   nothing white is a 1 000 rated player that didn't  make a blunder i mean white made a few inaccurate   moves according to the computer did white ever  blunder no and the moment that black blundered   rookie one won the game bishop d4 boom fantastic  game honestly and i'm not just saying that because   she's my girlfriend and should be upset right now  we go to this game okay so this is a game uh kind   of pink jake played it's a game he played with the  black pieces he's uh he's a 1537 rated player so a   little bit higher right but we're still going to  use the engine and notice the accuracy here right   the accuracy says that jake played at 36 jake  did not play this game at 36. he didn't win   this game but he definitely didn't play the  36 percent score so let's go through it okay   let's use the analysis let's go show  lines e4 so jake plays the karo khan d4 d5   so far so good knight f3 knight c6 bishop  b5 it's one of the moves this is one of the   moves against the exchange coracon black plays  bishop d7 all theories so far takes bishop takes   castles white black plays e6 trying to develop the  bishop knight develops bishop pins bishop d6 right   now here you know one argument can be made  that you should move the queen out so you   can go for the weak b2 pawn but after  bishop d6 knight e5 and short castle   i'm not criticizing anything that jake did he  finished all his development and he castled   however in these exchange car con positions one  thing that you need to realize is this pin can   be annoying and in general it's better to have  the bishop behind like blocking this pin rather   than the bishop more active because that way you  can move your knight right in what happens in the   game is jake is unable to really move his knight  that's his issue he plays white plays knight to g4   which pins and adds pressure but now jake just  very correctly just slides back defensively   right slides back defensively say why is the  computer saying king to h8 what the hell is this   the computer is saying this is another good move  because if you open up the g-file it's actually   not clear who's attacking who so the computer  is suggesting getting the king out of the way   anticipating the damaging of the pawn structure  and using the g-file against the opponent   but bishop b7 is completely fine we get this this  and bishop back to f4 now why is this a losing   mistake of course in the game you have no idea why  it's a losing mistake we only have computer after   this is a losing mistake because here black can  create a threat a threat that actually white   cannot stop and rookie 8 gives you this minus  sign which means missed win what does that mean   that means that you missed a move which would have  given you a massive massive advantage a winning   advantage so you go back and go what did i miss  oh i should have played queen b6 why oh because   i would have been attacking this and this and if  i got my queen in there now if we follow the best   line here c3 queen takes b2 you'll notice you're  hitting everybody right it actually doesn't even   matter what happens where where white moves you'll  you'll win at least two pawns and you will have a   winning advantage that is what black missed you go  oh okay that's why queen b6 was the best move okay   jake played rookie eight which was slow white  played knight c3 which is again a mistake and now   jake finds this move for white why is knight c3 a  mistake it allows queen to b6 so the best move for   white is c3 with the pawn strengthening the center  and then if queen to b6 you just defend it with   the queen for example queen here even a queen  trade queen d2 doesn't matter but you're never   losing any of these pawns that is why knight  c3 for white was a mistake and now jake finds   queen to b6 so so far 50 moves by jake is playing  all the best moves rook b1 and by the way you say   rugby one what what why is that a mistake why  why where did the eval go why is this so what   rook b1 is a bad move because white should be more  focused on defending the center pawn look at this   what does the computer suggest instead of rook  b1 bishop to e5 it wants white instead of this   to go here so that after queen takes b2 now look  at this apparently queen b2 is a losing mistake   because white is going to play this this and  attack your king like just play rook here   defending the knight it looks like black has  played only natural moves but suddenly black is   losing because white has opened up the king and is  going to get in here with the queen in the night   excuse me the queen and the rook so now the  best thing is to take first not open your king   and then go queen takes pawn so  it's all these little details right   rook to b1 was played in this game and black  plays bishop takes d4 now we get bishop back to g3   how does black make progress in this position  do you bring a rook jake pushed in the middle   which apparently gave back advantage look  what the computer wants it wants bishop back   the computer just wants you to move your bishop  back how on earth are you supposed to like   explain that if you're like a 1400 1500 like why  does the computer want me to just play a move that   looks like it does nothing because it wants you to  bring the bishop back and the bishops support the   pawns pushing it does not the computer does  not like that you've left your bishop here   and it could be a target and white  immediately plays the best move   targeting the bishop white down a pawn wants  to trade your powerful bishop that is why this   is considered a bad move go back with the bishop  first anticipate that your piece can be a target   and then and then you push your pawns  and now white finds again the best move   before a fantastic move the point is that you  cannot take and jake didn't take you cannot   take it because you pin yourself and by pinning  yourself white now plays c3 and wins the bishop   great move by white and that forces black to go  back to d6 now white finds another excellent move   utilizing this pin so basically your bishop by  not retreating a few moves ago doesn't have a   home anymore and is stranded in the line of sight  of all the other pieces c4 another beautiful pawn   move by white you cannot take you cannot take  this but what but what's the threat there's a few   threats with this move number one it's to take  you because you're protected so you can't take   why can't you push if you can't push because c5  c5 is another threat whoops c5 is another threat   so there's too many threats here push the pawn  and take you can't stop both but look at what   the computer wants it wants queen c7 why does  it want that move doesn't that just lose a pawn   yeah but the computer is trying to argue that even  though you lose your pawn you're still plus two of   advantage black has nearly two points worth of  advantage it doesn't feel that way you just lost   a pawn material is equal how do i have two points  of advantage well yeah i mean it thinks that you   have more space it likes control of the c file  it likes the bishop and it thinks that white's   pieces are not active enough but that's why it's  so tricky to analyze with computer in the game   jake played rook d8 and we know that is obviously  a bigger mistake because after rook to d8 c5 and after c5 of course what does jake do here well  he's forked so what should he do he should take   he should play bishop takes  pawn takes and queen takes to get two pawns but he goes here which is a big  mistake it's a big mistake because after take take   look at that look at that by the way you see that  taking back is a mistake the best move according   to the computer is to push the pun i mean what do  you know why that's the best move because it's the   computer is arguing the d-pawn that you're  trying to capture is not going anywhere and   it's more important to negate the movement of the  white knight which is so easy to understand if i   sit here explaining it to you but how how on earth  are you supposed to know not to take pawn to just   create this barrier so that white can't move the  knight i mean it's all about anticipating what the   opponent wants but this is a mistake a much more  obvious mistake because of course you need to take   this and get two points not one right so that's  a little bit more practical queen c4 is good   but the problem is that knight c3 comes with an  attack on the queen and this that is the problem   if you had anticipated knight c3 you would have  went uh-oh that's really bad and after queen c4   black there's bishop takes e5 which is the wrong  move bishop takes c5 is actually the wrong move   white should have played according to  the computer a move like rook takes e5   okay why rook takes e5 well it creates a  threat on your rook right if i take your   knight which looks free then you take i take and  you take my rook and you are completely winning   so if we go back a little bit why is bishop takes  e5 wrong well this bishop is guarding the knight   so if you play rook takes that's the best move  you get the bishop and then you get the knight and   there's no mate this is not mate because the  bishop is covering it is better in chances   where you can get two pieces for a rook to  see that you could get two pieces for a rook   so that is much more understandable as a concept  but jake plays this move which i don't like so   much but then f4 happens why is f4 such a blunder  f4 is such a blunder f6 looks like the best move   this looks like the best move which is what jake  played now if the bishop moves you take here   right but the computer wants you to go d4  because it thinks that this is the best move   because this pawn cannot be taken because of the  pin this is really difficult when the computer   is out here spouting lines at you and telling you  this was good this was not good it's really hard   i like f6 because the computer says what b5 i  mean come on that that didn't happen queen b3   happened and now i mean you're about to win this  right so of course you should trade you have to   win this bishop you have to trade the queen take  the queen take the bishop don't ask any questions   but jake goes here and that leaves the queen as a  target this is a much more understandable mistake   the bishop is hanging what's worth more than  a bishop the queen i'm gonna chase the queen   down you just gave me a target a lot of this is  anticipating how our piece can be put under attack   you notice that throughout this game it's can they  attack my piece be simple take the queen take the   bishop but in the game what happens one mistake  and now we're still losing this bishop but we have   one two three and white shatters our defenses  finally we take this back but it's too late   now the knight is here and the knight gets to c7  and the game is over because both of our rooks are   under attack king h8 they pick up the rook we take  back rook d a check and that's it i mean we just   can't defend ourselves fast enough we go back  and white plays queen a4 excellent move putting   pressure on this pin right we have to go back  and the final domino falls and white wins with   the move rook takes e5 and black resigns and black  resigns because after take take you cannot prevent   this bishop from being taken the game is simply  over all of this is so difficult to conceptualize   into terms but you can and we did that's actually  one thing that you have to realize like we did as   the game was going on we were saying well i have  to create more threatening moves exactly i created   a more threatening move white defended the wrong  pawn and rather than me pushing my pawns blindly   i need to make sure my pieces are not targets  if i want to go e5 can white go here with the   knight oh that looks a little unpleasant right  backwards knight moves and what did we learn c4   there's multiple threats associated  with the move be careful there is a fork   bring it back lose the pawn and then regroup  also if you if you blunder something like this   two pawns for the piece two pawns for the piece  rather than one this is not a practical blunder   but here right here keep it simple take the queen  take the bishop don't ask any questions queen   d3 is too much right and immediately our queen  became a target and the position fell apart so   a lot to learn from a game like this the opening  was good a lot of middle game concepts here   a lot of peace dynamics and interactions and  now we will end the video with an extremely   impressive game a game by one of my subscribers  rated 1900 blitz but 300 10-minute rapid chess   excellent player he's given me trouble in the past  before his name is razer like and um perhaps the   thing that razer likes should be more proud of  here most proud of is look at this evaluation   no inaccuracies no mistakes no blunders the  opponent made one inaccuracy playing at 83 percent   so let's see how razer like won a really really  nice game and look at that he gets one word   smooth look at this smooth doesn't matter by  the way you can still analyze games like this so   first stage of the game vienna oh no sorry  sorry carl khan kara khan e5 something that   he knows from book bishop f5 here he plays the tal  variation something that i've recommended for him   h6 you know that against h6 you play g4 and the  idea if black goes back to h7 is the move e6   sacrificing a pawn to go here and basically if  the bishops are traded the light square's near   the king are a problem so far all book  you know this all because you've studied   the opening black plays knight f6 white takes  on h7 black takes with the knight and around   here you're basically on your own and razor  like plays the move g5 which is a great move   why because if take take you've opened up the rook  to pin the knight to the rook which is horrible   plus you are threatening this whenever you want  it black is already messed up so black plays queen   d6 with a long-term plan of moving the knight and  castling so what does razer like to he says uh-uh   queen h5 check now you're never castling now  your knight is stuck in the center of the board   and now he begins operation two transition of  opening to middle game where are my opponent's   pawn breaks how is my opponent going to get out  of this bind where are the pawn breaks f4 and e5   uh sorry c5 and e5 i spoiled the move he plays  f4 an excellent move controlling the central pawn   break and next you will play knight to f3 black  plays the right pawn break c5 but white plays   knight f3 the best move knight f3 is an excellent  move uh and and again you'll notice that c5 is a   mistake because of knight f3 apparently the best  move for black there was what was what was what   the best move for black is g6 what if i take and  then black look like the computer computer wants   to sacrifice upon and play e5 the computer wants  to sacrifice a pawn and trade queens because it   thinks that white's queen is so powerful i mean  that's insane that is just a ridiculous engine   move black is playing like a human look at this  move knight e5 threatening knight f7 and knight g6   forcing black to do this and now look at this look  at what white does here de5 which is the best move   because you remove your pawn from the sights of  this pawn you create an impenetrable structure   the bishop cannot enter the knight  cannot move queen goes to c6 uh-oh   this knight is stuck knight f6 oh sorry d4 great  move counter attacking so we're not just rushing   to take and razor like is just a boss he castles  razer like castles himself out of danger and   black has to sacrifice the knight now in the next  phase of the game um white is trying to transition   from being up material to actually winning  this position because you are up a piece you   have to bring the piece into the game but because  black has all eight pawns you'll need to crack at   the position with your pawns so watch what white  does knight to d2 solid developing move bishop d6   and the knight jumps to c4 hitting the bishop the  bishop slides out of danger and what does white   do well i want my knight to live here forever i  anticipate my opponent will kick my knight out   i'm going to play a4 if now my opponent plays  b5 i just take so opponent plays king d7   white plays b3 not the best move i don't think i  would have played b3 even if the computer says it   i mean i like it it's a decent move maybe you get  your bishop out i probably would have slid my rook   over to target this pawn or bring my queen back  or go for a queen trade or up material you might   as well go for a queen trade right so b3 and now  rook a to e8 now white plays bishop d2 which is   the best move black plays rook to e7 rook to  e7 is a great move white plays rook to e1 and   black plays rook to e8 so all the pieces have now  joined the party so what do we do all the pieces   are here black has eight pawns what do we do c3  i told you at a certain moment you have to break   and that's exactly what happens  black plays e5 and white just goes chops everything down bam bam bam bam queen g4  check another really good move bringing the queen   closer via a check king to d8 bishop to b4 you're  falling apart from both sides all it took was a   pawn break in a closed position after rookie six  white defends the pawn from the rook black plays   e4 but now but now there are some weaknesses and  white plays rook c1 creating a threat on the queen   if the knight moves to d6 the bishop is  protecting it and the rook hits the queen   so we get queen d5 rook f5 comes in hitting  the queen slides out of danger the rook follows   check and now knight d6 check and the point is  that after the knight jumps in you cannot take the   rook swarm and the game is over so widen this game  one by using a superior base of opening knowledge   and immediately punishing the opponent's mistakes  clogging up the position and using a combination   of pawn play and piece play to maximize  the pressure anticipating the opponent's   moves one pawn break and when the opponent  responded there was chop chop chop chop bam   great game huh good good game to end on even games  like that you have to analyze but i will leave you   with a bonus lesson this this position was sent to  me by a viewer and they asked me in this position   in this game you cannot take the queen because you  are pinned they played the move bishop takes b4   and their logic was the opponent cannot take  back why is this a two question mark blunder   and notice what the computer wanted instead  the computer instead wants queen takes b4   and the person was like why is that the best  move if take here knight c2 this is what you do   if you're ever confused with a computer  suggestion you pull it up say why queen takes b4   queen knight takes i take the queen they go check  knight c2 oops sorry they go check knight c2   king d2 knight takes a1 why is this so good for  me i'm down two points of material because the   knight is trapped and if you follow the line the  engine just wants this this and take and once you   win the knight you have two pieces for the rook  which is considered an advantage that is why   queen takes b4 is the top engine move you say well  let me what if check and then my queen is hanging queen e4 you can move your queen out of the danger  of the knight into the defense and it's protected   that is how you learn from engine suggestions  then you go back and you try to incorporate it   into your own knowledge of the game and go is  that something i could have seen probably not   sometimes the computer gives you an evaluation  that's five moves deep you have to decide whether   or not that is practical for your application of  the game but what you do absolutely have to zone   in on with all of this is that was your opening  good you have to go review your opening line if   it wasn't good did you get a good position  from the opening how did the opponent play   that was different from what you knew how was your  middle game did you follow good tactical patterns   did you implement a good game plan out of  your opening like razer like did in that last   game right the ideas of your opening and then  tying all of these suggestions back to yourself   oh i've realized here i should have taken the  bishop for the two pawns rather than the one pawn   or here oh okay i see but sometimes you won't  understand you need to apply the knowledge to your   chess that is the most practical but one thing is  for sure you have to absolutely analyze your games   thanks for watching if you've enjoyed any of uh  of today's video well i suppose it's 32 minutes   in so if you enjoyed the video give it a thumbs  up share it with someone who you think also should   learn from their own games leave a comment like i  always say i love going through them even the ones   that are mean but don't be forced mean let the  trolls be mean if you have something nice to say   say something nice check out some of my other  playlists i have them on openings tactics uh   long rating climb videos where i play against  my subscribers and let me know in the comments   if there's a concept for a video that i have  not yet covered i'll see you in the next one

Channel: GothamChess

Views: 875,272

Rating: 4.9687762 out of 5

Keywords: Gotham Chess gives lessons, Gothamchess lessons, gothamchess openings, gothamchess caro kann, gothamchess guide, gothamchess e4, gothamchess, gothamchess rating climb

Id: ylpAHvPlafc

Length: 32min 58sec (1978 seconds)

Published: Fri Jan 08 2021